I decided to get my ass in gear and squat away the suck that was last week, the week of one workout and many bad decisions.
5/3/1 Cycle 12 - 1’s Week
Squat - TM 470
135x5
225x5
295x3
355x5 set 1
405x3 set 2
445x5 set 3
Definitely a PR and, according to Wendler’s 1RM calculation, my best squat set ever with a projected 1RM of 519. I’m nearly certain I had a sixth in me, so I might be somewhere around a 550 lb squatter on a good day. One of these days I’ll need to see what I can do with tight wraps, a belt, a monolift and no sun shining directly in my face.
But yes, for now I’m quite pleased with a 445x5 beltless, sun-in-the-face squat set equipped only with Rehband knee sleeves, hideous toe shoes and absolutely no wolves on my shirt. There’s gotta be a federation out there that advocates squatting in such a fashion. Someday I may compete and see how I stack up!
Leg Press
4 sets of 380x10
Supersetted with…
Romanian Deadlift
3 sets of 205x10
Notes: Assistance was still too easy. Talk less. Do more.
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x1
420x5 set 1
475x3 set 2
530x2 set 3
575x1 PR
Leg Extensions
3 sets of stack x 12
Supersetted with…
Standing Calf Raise
3 sets of stack x 15
Notes: 4lb PR on the deadlift, but more like a 10 lb PR for my normal lifting conditions of beltless + shitty bar. I did 571 with a real deadlift bar and a real broken-in belt and a real strong guy telling me what to do. I think I’m good for quite a bit more if I put my mind to it.
This is the last week my gym will be open, so keeping structure loose this week. For example, I structured today’s workout around shooting the shit with a guy I ran into who I haven’t seen in a long time, then I did some squats.
At least some of this bad decision weight I recently gained seems to be getting put to good use. 585 went up easier than I expected and 600 was over halfway to lockout before I stalled.
Good bye, old funky gym. You and your 3 minute drive from my office will be dearly missed!
[quote]raven78 wrote:
Still lifting mate?
[/quote]
Good fucking question. I thought about it for a while and decided that yes, I’m still lifting mate. So I went down to the basement after work today and did…
Squats
135x5
205x5
255x5
275x5
Bench Press
135x10
185x10
205x10
Dumbbell Row
80x25
In the weeks since I PR’d with 585 on the deadlift I’ve just had a lot going on. My gym closed, which was harder on me than I expected. My ex-GF finally moved all of her shit out, so I no longer live in a storage locker. I somehow convinced a very attractive 23 year-old single woman to become my roommate and pay money to live with me. I also found out that this is a great way to irritate the hell out of your 41 year-old ex-girlfriend. All of this plus the challenge of refurnishing most of my living space was a compelling enough reason to take a little break from lifting.
Just when the dust was settling with making sure my ex-GF landed on her feet and had a smooth transition I managed to sprain my ankle, which I used as an excuse to continue avoiding all barbell work for an extra few weeks. I gave the ankle a test run tonight and everything felt good. I just felt WEAK!
The great news is that my old gym is re-opening on Sunday with great owners, some new equipment and updated decor. My plan for next week is to just work up with some heavy triples to further test my ankle and get an idea of what my training max should be when I jump back into 5/3/1.
So yeah, I’m still fucking lifting mate. Thanks for checking in!
I was going to start 5/3/1 back up today but when I got to the gym I realized I hadn’t bothered to figure out a new TM or my lifts for the day, so I just winged it.
Notes: I haven’t weighed myself since taking some time off. My appetite went way down while I wasn’t lifting and my clothes are back to fitting like they did when I was around 295. This lack of weigh-in wasn’t deliberate, but rather a product of not owning a scale and the new gym has yet to procure one. My strength is down but not dramatically. I’m considering ditching 5/3/1 for now, sticking with the main principles and not worrying about pushing the envelope on strength. In other words, just keep doing what I’m doing for at least the rest of the month. It seems to be working.
My new roommate has really put a lot of life back in to me and I’m loving working out again. I’m losing fat without doing anything too dramatic and I’m happy with that for now, even in the absence of a scale.
My new roommate has really put a lot of life back in to me and I’m loving working out again. I’m losing fat without doing anything too dramatic and I’m happy with that for now, even in the absence of a scale.[/quote]
That is the important part! Was going to ask if you were using your previous maxes or retesting, but see you are taking a break from the program. Good luck and good to see ya back at it.
My new roommate has really put a lot of life back in to me and I’m loving working out again. I’m losing fat without doing anything too dramatic and I’m happy with that for now, even in the absence of a scale.[/quote]
That is the important part! Was going to ask if you were using your previous maxes or retesting, but see you are taking a break from the program. Good luck and good to see ya back at it.[/quote]
Thanks for the encouragement scoots2. I’m eating less, drinking less and moving more. Not exactly rocket science but I’ll see what kind of December I string together and then decide in January what I’ll do next.
Friday 12/4/15
Deadlift
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x3
455x3
495x1
545x1
I felt pretty strong on deads today but my left hammy told me to stop and I’m glad I did. It is fine but it feels really tight and it was getting tighter each rep. No sense in continuing that any further.
Press
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
185xFAIL
135x5
135x5
135x5
I was pretty surprised 185 didn’t go up but I’m not too worried about it.
I am sighting some new meatheads coming over to our newly remodeled gym. If some of these guys stick around I do not think I will be the strongest guy there for much longer, which will be a most welcome change for me.