5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - Interlude - Day 6
Friday - 18 November 2022
Workout: No training
I’m running out of things to say here. That may be a first!
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5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - Interlude - Day 7
Saturday - 19 November 2022
Workout: BB curls, 0940-0955 (15 minutes)
BB curls - 146 (rep PR)
146 unbroken in 9:19—almost a full minute longer than Wednesday, but to get only one more rep. Wow!
I don’t know what’s different, but I continue to feel the fatigue in my biceps pretty early in the sets these days (and that’s a good thing), but my grip and forearms are still pretty toasty by the end, too.
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Definitely not new. We Americans have experimented with the concept of “no training” to a point of legitimate mastery.
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Idk why you deleted that, because that was freaking funny
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5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - Interlude - summary
I’d say it was a miserable week—because it absolutely was—but I reinforced a lesson I probably learned in college or thereabout:
No plan is the worst kind of plan.
At least for me.
With respect to training.
Because I hate training.
I absolutely hate it.
I was physically ready again pretty early in the week—I had been letting myself sleep off the flu, but I think it was Tuesday when I just naturally starting waking early again. I still had lots of head congestion, but a few minutes of hacking around cleared that up and I was pretty much ready to go. But there was no plan for training, so when left to my own devices, I didn’t.
I could’ve.
I just didn’t.
I did spend LOTS of time working, pulling 12-14 hours a day in front of the computer. I had some catching up to do for missing a few days the previous week, but that level of effort wasn’t actually required for more than a day or two—I actually WANTED to be working: I am intellectually challenged and engaged in my tasks, and I am being stretched.
And that’s WEIRD, because I haven’t been motivated to work like that in a long time: this new position has rekindled some professional ambition.
And that’s GOOD, because I’m young, I’m not done growing professionally, and the opportunities here are actually a big part of why I decided to try something new after a decade with my previous employer.
So yeah: a miserable week but not fruitless. Besides, I managed to get caught up on my barbell curls. And anything involving curls has got to be okay in the end, right?
Anyway, I’m ready to get back on the training horse. I got sick before I finished Week 2 of 5/3/1 & Bodybuilding, so I’ll be picking up by rerunning that and moving forward from there. My goals for Week 2 - Redux are:
- Complete all 4 lifting workouts
- Do a 30-minute weighted vest walk every day
- Hit my upper back with a high-rep movement every day
- Complete 3 days of hard conditioning & direct calf work
- Eat well
Simple it may be, but that, my friends, is a PLAN!
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5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d1 (w2 redux)
Sunday - 20 November 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0540-0635 (55 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Fasted.
Old Man Winter showed up recently, so it was in the low-20s and windy this morning. Broke out my base layer, stocking cap, gloves, and even the neck warmer for this morning’s walk. (I am saving the hoodie for when it gets really cold—I mean, technically winter hasn’t even started yet!) Wasn’t too bad with all that, except when the wind picked up.
That just leaves calves, daily work, and Pwn’s Tabearta at some point later today.
11 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d1 (w2 redux)
Sunday - 20 November 2022
Workout: Daily work, calves, & extra conditioning, 1225-1310 (45 minutes)
Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10
3 rounds of:
a) Wendler rows - 90 lbs - 20, 20, 35
b) 1-pump burpees + 30-inch box jumps - 10 + 10, 10 + 10, 10 + 10
c) Single-leg calf raises - L/R - 35 lbs - 10, 8, 6
Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10
Pwn’s Tabearta - 8x20/10 - 65 lbs - 4x3, 4x2
I’m dead now, but I did it: I managed to get 3 reps in each of the first 4 rounds of Tabearta today. I was absolutely red-lining, though: my HR was way up in the 170s—in fact, it peaked in the 170s on everything I did today—and I may have started early on a round or two, but I still got 3 clean reps each time. That made the last 4 rounds feel absolutely brutal, but it was worth it!
Rest of it felt pretty good, too, especially because I’m still not 100%. But I get to chill the rest of today and I should sleep well tonight, so I’m expecting to crush tomorrow’s press workout.
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These sounds familiar. I actually like the combo of burpees and box jumps. Have you tried box jump overs? For some reason I like these even better. Probably would be touch with a 30-inch box, though. 24" is the norm for those.
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Haven’t tried the jump-overs—probably not athletic enough anymore, even for 24-inch, but space is also an issue. Though I could move outside for those, now that I think about it.
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Tabearta just always sucks. It’s a perfect way to make 4 minutes awful, haha.
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5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d2 (w2 redux)
Monday - 21 November 2022
Workout: Shoulders & biceps, 0520-0630 (70 minutes)
Indigo-3G - 0500
Surge - 0530-0619
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0539; End: 0627; Duration: 48 minutes
Press - 55x5, 70x5, 90x5 | 105x5, 120x5, 135x6
DB press - 2x45 lbs - 12, 12, 7 + 4 + 1, 8 + 4
Lateral raise - 2x15 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12
BB curl - 65 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12
Preacher curl - 45 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
Shrug - 2x65 lbs - 20, 20, 20, 20
Semi-fasted: black coffee upon waking, then Indigo-3G and Surge as above.
Not bad today. Might’ve had another decent rep in me on the top set, but not 8 (to tie a rep PR) and definitely not 9 (for a new rep PR), so I called it at 6. I was able to get a second set of 12 on the follow-up supplemental DB press sets, but then I hit a wall on the third. Still, all of that together was progress—or at least not regression.
Warm-up sets in 4 minutes, work sets in 6, and supplemental in another 11. Remainder of the Rx assistance and today’s upper-back daily work in a 4-round circuit; finished that up in 27 minutes or so. Felt like I was moving at a decent clip, but in reality it was slower than the last time I did this workout (way back on 07 November). I was working hard, though, so it’s all good.
Speaking of, the biceps work was HARD today. Admittedly, I did do a lot of curls last week—in fact, that’s just about ALL I did last week (!)—so maybe there was just some accumulated fatigue or something. I made it through, though, and the upper-body pump was incredible this morning.
Burpees + swings and a weighted vest walk later today.
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5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d2 (w2 redux)
Monday - 21 November 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1740-1835 (55 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Finally remembered the burpees + swings! It’s a balmy 40 degrees out tonight, so this evening’s walk was much more pleasant than the one yesterday morning.
11 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d3 (w2 redux)
Tuesday - 22 November 2022
Workout: Back, 0520-0645 (85 minutes)
Indigo-3G - 0500
Surge - 0530-0620
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0544; End: 0643; Duration: 59 minutes
Deadlift - 140x5, 180x5, 220x5 | 260x5, 300x5, 340x8 (rep PR)
Bent-over row - 125 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12
Chin-up - 10 lbs - 8 + 2, 8 + 2, 8 + 2, 8 + 2
Good morning - 135 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
HLR - 12, 12, 12, 12
Incline scap/trap - 2x55 lbs - 15, 15, 15, 15
Semi-fasted: black coffee upon waking, then Indigo-3G and Surge as above.
Mixed bag this morning: I’m calling 340x8 a rep PR; previous best was 330x8 for a 3+ PR set back in late-April, but I hit 330x12 and 350x7, both back in late-August for 5+ PR sets, so I’m not sure 340x8 really counts. Anyway, the deadlifts felt reasonably strong but they beat the crap out of me, and the rest of it was a real slog.
Warm-up sets in 5 minutes, work sets in 10 minutes, and supplemental BB rows in another 9 minutes. A decent part of the 10-minute duration on those work sets was me sucking wind and trying not to curl up in a ball and just quit after that top set—it really did crush me. But I think that’s true even when I don’t push too far beyond 5 reps, and I was pleased with the deadlift effort today (even if the rest of it was a slog). I used straps and my belt only on the top set, but I should’ve had straps for the 300x5 set as well: my left-side grip was very weak today. The follow-up BB rows felt decent, and I was able to concentrate on activating that left side—did better with that today than last time.
Rx assistance and daily upper-back work in a circuit that took about 25 minutes: I was moving very slowly at that point, and every round was a mental and physical battle. I was short-of-breath on chins today, and my left-hand grip was problematic—the performance there was horrible. My attitude just wasn’t right for the first two sets, but the reps were genuinely hard by the third and fourth sets. Bah!
I may have to drop the weight on the good mornings, particularly as the deadlift weights go up: I’m walking a fine line between just “working really hard” and “working so hard as to flirt with injury”: I could really feel my SI joints moving around, particularly early in each of the sets. They didn’t pop or get misaligned, but I’ve gotta watch that…
Anyway, that leaves burpees + swings and a weighted vest walk. Those will follow later this afternoon or into the early part of this evening!
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5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d3 (w2 redux)
Tuesday - 22 November 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1740-1835 (55 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Pretty warm again tonight, guess the cold snap was just that. It’s supposed to be a bit colder in the morning, but not like it was over the weekend.
6 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d4 (w2 redux)
Wednesday - 23 November 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0520-0615 (55 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Fasted. Cold this morning, but not unbearable. Usual stuff to follow later today.
8 Likes
Way to just keep going. Good work!
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5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d4 (w2 redux)
Wednesday - 23 November 2022
Workout: Daily work, calves, & extra conditioning, 1525-1625 (60 minutes)
Jump rope - 300+ reps
5 rounds of:
a) BPA - red - 10 high + 10 mid + 10 low (per round)
b) Deficit RDL - 135 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
c) CT’s modified French press - 95 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
3 rounds of:
a) Single-leg CR - L/R - 35 lbs - 10, 8, 6
b) Plate ground-to-overhead - 45 lbs - 25, 25, 25
Jump rope - 300+ reps
Still fasted.
That first circuit still gets my HR up, even if it doesn’t look like conditioning. I superset the calf raises with burpees + swings last time because I forgot the burpee + swing combo the previous Monday, but I threw in the plate ground-to-overheads today because they’re definitely conditioning. Whatever the reason, I like that combination: the overhead stuff really gets your heart and lungs going, while the calf raises let you cool off for just a bit. It works well for me, anyway.
So that’s it for today. Chest & triceps early tomorrow morning, and then we feast!
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5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c18w2d5 (w2 redux)
Thursday - 24 November 2022
Workout: Chest & triceps, 0525-0645 (80 minutes)
Indigo-3G - 0500
Surge - 0530-0631
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0542; End: 0643; Duration: 61 minutes
Bench - 95x5, 125x5, 150x5 | 180x5, 205x5, 230x10 (rep PR)
Dip - 75 lbs - 10, 6 + 3 + 1, 6 + 3 + 1, 5 + 3 + 2
DB flye - 2x35 lbs - 12, 12, 8 + 4, 8 + 4
Band pushdown - red - 20, 20, 20, 15 + 5, 15 + 5
Push-up - 25 + 7 + 5, 16 + 8 + 6, 12 + 6 + 3, 8 + 4 + 3 (103 reps)
BFP - red - 30, 30, 30, 30, 30
Semi-fasted: black coffee upon waking, then Indigo-3G and Surge as above.
You know it’s a good day when you have to rest-pause band pushdowns just to get through 100 reps!
Hit a new rep PR with that top set: Previous best was 220x10 almost exactly a year ago (26 November 2021). Reps 7-10 were a little slow—not grindy, just not snappy—but I’ll take it: That’s a solid 10-lbs increase over the past year.
Warm-up sets in 4 minutes, work sets in 7 minutes, supplemental dips in another 13 minutes. Yeah, I paid the price for that top set with the dips (and everything else!), but I’m cool with that today. I hit genuine failure on that 2nd mini-set of the 3rd 10-rep attempt again: Tried to get a 4th rep and collapsed. At least I’m working hard?
Did the first set of DB flyes on a slight incline, but I felt the reps only my anterior delts—no pec activation at all. Moved to flat bench for the remaining sets, and that worked just right this week. The 3rd set was the best—could really feel the reps in my pecs—and that’s probably why I had to rest-pause that one. (I was genuinely fatigued by the 4th and final set of those.)
Also pleased with the push-ups today: 103 reps across the 4 rest-pause sets, and a 6-rep increase over the Week 1 reps (several weeks ago now). Gotta keep pushing that number higher and higher over the weeks ahead.
And here’s a photo of me after this morning’s work, all pumped and sweaty:
The pump on these upper-body workouts has been incredible, and today was no exception. Man, I wish I looked like that WITHOUT having to slam my chest and tris for an hour! Anyway…
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
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Excellent bench PR!
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nice work.
I agree you look incredible, well done.
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