After spinning my wheels for too long, I’m finally starting a training log.
Background
age: 33
height: 6’1"
weight: 176 lbs
body fat %: scale says 14 - 14.5% but who knows for sure
training age: I’ve been training inconsistently for years. I’ve been stronger in the past, but inconsistency and lack of direction have left me weaker.
goals: get stronger, look better, improve posture, maintain mobility
Training
I’m currently able to make the gym 3 days a week (sometimes 2 depending on work and family commitments). I just started a push/pull split after futzing around with full body routines for a while. Full body routines are prescribed as best medicine for someone at my level, but I’ve been stuck in place for too long. I think a push/pull split will let me get in enough volume to elicit a training response while allowing more time for recovery. I think there’s more margin for error compared to a fully body split.
For squats and presses, the plan is to work up to a top set in the 5 - 8 range, then follow up with sets of 5 at 80 - 85% of the top set weight. I’ll adjust the number of down sets based on the lift and how I’m progressing. Based on experience, I tend to need more volume on upper body presses than on squats. When I hit 8 reps on my top set, I’ll increase the weight.
For deadlifts, I’m going to shoot for 10 total reps at the same weight. I’ve been liking 3 sets at 5, 3, and 2 reps lately. Sometimes I’ll go for more reps on the last set. After deadlifts, I’ll do RDLs or back extensions for higher reps. I’ll follow this up with pull-up ladders, then some seated cable rows.
Each day, I’ll probably add in some unplanned direct arm and ab work, which I may or may not record.
Overall structure will look like this - press 1 / pull / press 2 / pull / repeat
Press Day 1
Squat - work up to top set followed by sets of 5 at lower weight
Press - work up to top set followed by sets of 5 at lower weight
DB bench press - 4-5x10
Press Day 2
Squat - work up to top set followed by sets of 5 at lower weight
Bench Press - work up to top set followed by sets of 5 at lower weight
One-arm standing db pres - 4-5x10
Pull Day
Deadlift - 3 sets at 5, 3, 2 reps
RDL or back extensions - 2-3x10
Pull-up ladders. I’ll do the occasional AMRAP set to measure progress.
4-5x10 seated cable rows
Something for rear delts - face pulls, rear delt raises, etc.
I’m going to give this 4-6 weeks before considering adjustments.
Some recent lifts to give an idea of where I’m “starting” from. Weights are in pounds, not kilos (don’t laugh).
A couple notes on formatting. Lift are recorded as weightxrepsxsets. Assume 1 set if there’s nothing listed.
I’m including an estimated 1RM derived from my top set. I understand this won’t be accurate since I will have accumulated some fatigue by the time I hit my top set. I’m more interested in making sure this number trends up over time.
Work sets are in bold for my main lifts. I consider anything above 70% of my estimated 1RM a work set.
The goal is to progress while doing as few sets as possible. Not sure if I did enough volume today. If I don’t feel stronger on my next push workout, I’ll add more sets.
Squat
I probably could have done another rep or 2 on my top set, but this was my first time squatting 175 in a while so wanted to take it easy. I’ll push it harder next time around.
I had some pain behind my right shoulder afterwards. This has been happening more frequently lately. My gut tells me this is the result of my desk job, spending all day using a mouse (right handed) and keyboard. I’m going to try the banded dynamic warm up I saw on the front page before pressing next time.
In general, I don’t want to train on back-to-back days on this template. But, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get back into the gym until Tuesday if I didn’t hit it today, so here we are.
Deadlift
My lower back was a little tight after squatting yesterday, so I got in my 10 reps over 5 sets instead of 3. I’m thinking of doing something like 5x2 one workout, 3x3 the next, then 5, 3, 2. Next workout I’d repeat with 5x2 with an additional 10 pounds.
30s between rungs, 60s between ladders. Lats were definitely fatigued from deadlifts. Had some of the same shoulder (not quite) pain at the bottom of each rep. I’m thinking about doing a row variation for my primary upper body pull to see if that helps.
Lower back and hips felt beat up today. I think I went too heavy or did too much volume last squat session. The 5th rep at 165 was a struggle, so I stopped increasing the weight there. I may tweak what I’m doing with my squats a bit. Maybe not push my top set for AMRAP. Instead, I could stop a few reps early, knock the weight down and push that lower set for AMRAP. Another option would be to switch to something less demanding (like lunges) after the top set. I"ll experiment and see what works.
Right shoulder been bugging me, so I did some Spoto presses to work on tightness and scapular retraction. I stayed well short of failure. Worked well; shoulder feels fine.
I’m either back squatting or deadlifting every workout. I’m not sure my lower back is fully recovering. I think I may switch to a different leg exercise after my top set of squats - lunges or leg press.
Deadlift
None of my sets really felt good until the last one… still dialing in the mechanics I guess.
135x4x2
155x2
175x2
195x1 205x3 205x3 205x3
45 Degree Back Extension
Did these holding a 25 lb DB in each hand. I think I prefer RDLs.
25x9x2
Pull-up Ladders
30s between rungs, 60s between ladders. Neutral grip for 1st and 3rd ladders. Pronated grip for 2nd.
BWx1,2,3 BWx1,2,3 BWx1,2,3
Spoto Press
I did these between ladders. Doing them as “rehab” - light weight, staying away from failure, focusing on scapular retraction and staying tight.
45x10
95x4x4
Seated Cable Row (narrow grip attachment)
Narrow grip attachment is much easier than wide grip, so I up’d the weight.
Going to the gym for a pull day tomorrow, so I opted for front squats instead of back squats to spare my lower back.
Front Squat
Haven’t done these in months, but they felt fine. Did some hip mobility drills beforehand, which felts great. At one point, I did 135 for 3 reps. I remember getting some low back pain during front squats in the past, but focused on bracing, which helped a lot.
I did shoulder dislocates, band pull-aparts, rotator cuff stuff before first warm-up set, and the nagging shoulder irritation I’ve been dealing with wasn’t an issue.
Welp, f’d up my back on my second work set of deadlifts. Right in the middle of the lift I tweaked my lower back. I’ve done this in the past, but always on the eccentric. First set flew up. I was focused on my bracing and extending my chest. I let it all go to shit on the second set, I guess. I’m thinking light squats on my next push day (Wednesday) or leg press if the squats bug my back. Then, light good mornings on my next pull day (Friday) instead of deadlifts. Reevaluate after that.
My back is feeling much better. I no longer feel like I’m being jabbed by hot pokers when flex or rotate my lumbar region.
Trying Greg Nuckols’ linear periodization model, laid out here…
Deadlift
I expected 10 - 12 reps at 165, but came up short. Could be due to lingering back issues or the fact that I’m not used to deadlifting for more than 5 reps.
135x5 135x5 165x8 (est. 1RM 205) 155x8
Pull-ups
I read Lee Boyce’s article on pull-ups and tried to incorporate the technique he outlined. Primary take-away was depress shoulders to initiate the lift. Took some getting used to, but I felt the movement in my upper middle back and not just in my “wings” like I normally do. Right shoulder is bugging me a bit though.
Been a while. After seeing my rep maxes stay about the same for a month+, I decided to give tactical barbell a shot. I picked front squat, incline bench press, seated cable rows and deadlift for my first block. I only made it 3 weeks before I gave in and retested my maxes. Front squat went from 135x3 to 145x4. Incline bench press went from 115x7 to 125x7. Deadlift stayed about the same 215x3. I think my issue with full body programs before was that I would take each set too close to failure, and I wouldn’t fully recovery between workouts. Turns out, I really like percentage based training.
For my next block, I think I’m going to swap out front squats for back squats. My knees were bothering me with the front squats, which I assume is due to excessive forward knee travel compared to back squats. Also thinking of swapping deadlifts for RDLs.
A year of dicking around an no progress made… in fact I think I’ve lost some ground. The new thread title reflects my goal for the next 3-6 months.
Starting 5/3/1 Full Body from Beyond. I’m going to run at least one cycle before tweaking the basic program. Plan is to cap PR sets at 10, 7, and 5 for 5’s, 3’s and 5/3/1 weeks respectively. Here are my TM’s for the first cycle.
Push-up - Did everything I could to make these as hard as possible. Elbows close to sides, “elbow pits” facing forward, slow eccentric. Stopped short of failure.
BWx8
BWx6
BWx5
BWx5
BWx5
BWx4
RFESS - I’ll probably do these instead of squats on deadlift days. Just did a couple sets, mostly for the hip flexor stretch.
0x8
15x8
Trap bar deadlift - I had a few more reps in me on the PR set, but wanted to play it safe since I haven’t done any deadlifting in a while.
115x5x2
125x5
145x5
165x8
Press - The press is weird lift for me. I hit 110 for 1 a few weeks ago. I just can’t do reps on the press for some reason.
45x5
55x5
60x5
70x5
80x6
65x5
65x5
RDL - Did this primarily to stretch out the hamstrings. Maybe I’m imagining it, but there seems to be a connection between tight hamstrings and achy knees for me.
45x15
DB row
35x10
35x10
32.5x10
Seated cable row
75x10
75x10
Push-up
BWx8
BWx7
BWx6
BWx5
BWx5
BWx5
One-handed, reverse-grip cable curl - Paul Carter recommended these for elbow health, and they’ve certainly helped. I do these with light weight and slow eccentrics.
10x12
10x12
Hi mate - I notice from your first post you and me are in a similar position (albeit your post was last Jan) so I thought I’d say “hello and good luck”.
How have you got on the last year? Kept up the consistency?
That one year gap between my first posts and where I picked this up last week represents a year fuckarounditis to use Mark Rippetoe’s word. Consistency is the name of the game from here on out though… or at least the goal! Hopefully keeping this log will keep me honest!
Sure am. Just wrapped up my second week of 5/3/1 full body from Jim Wendler’s ‘5/3/1 Beyond’. I’m going to stick to it for 2-3 cycles, then reevaluate.