Thank you very much brother, I really appreciate that! And likewise, of course.
February Placement
I’ve just found out that I’m being posted out to the complete boonies in February for 6 months. In terms of training it’s a pretty big hindrance - there’s no way I’ll be able to do 5/3/1, even the 2 day version. I think I’ll get home about once a fortnight and I’ll obviously want to spend that time with my wife, so this could mean 6 months without a barbell.
I have no doubt that I’ll be able to train effectively - I know I can get stronger with bodyweight and kettlebells - but I really wanted to make some serious barbell progress. Looking on the bright side this will be a great adventure and I’ll have no excuses not to sort out my cardio. Hopefully I’ll be able to maintain my deadlift/squat progress and then get stronger in the second half of the year.
In between now and then I’ll stick with what I’m doing - 5/3/1 with bodyweight assistance. I’ll hit some maxes before I leave and then switch to bodyweight and kettlebells. I’ve been deadlifting 180kg for 24 weeks now, and it’ll be 30 weeks by the time I go, so I’m hopeful that it will reasonably straightforward to maintain. And I should be able to maintain my squat, just because it’s so pitiful to start with. Barring re-injury I don’t think I could get weaker lol.
This isn’t ideal, but it’s all an adventure and I’ve certainly overcome much worse.
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Week 48: Cycle 1, Week 3, Day 1 - Deadlifts
Deadlifts
140kg: 5 - belt on, mixed grip
155kg: 3
170kg: 3
190kg: 1
200kg: F
Pistol Squat/Hanging Leg Raise/Pull-Up - Giant Set
BW: 4x 1/3/5
Crosstrainer
30min
I know I said I really needed to take a day off but I was feeling very restless this evening so I hit next week’s deadlifts.
EDIT: This is completely gutting but I made a gym-maths error - I thought I hit a solid rep with 200kg and failed 210kg, but I was 10kg out (I used a pair of 15kgs instead of 20kgs). Doesn’t sound like much but that’s really upsetting - a cleaner 200kg is progress, but failing it 3 months after first hitting it certainly isn’t.
This has been a bit of a shit day all in all.
Week 48: Summary
Bodyweight: 97.5kg
Training: 5 sessions, pretty good
Nutrition: Average
I’m feeling a little uninspired with my lower body training just now, but realistically this has been a good week. I got all my top sets by a decent margin and I got a good amount of assistance volume and cardio in too.
The news about my next job has been annoying, but the more I think about it the more I realise that it will be a good opportunity to push myself in new ways. Although it doesn’t always feel like it this comeback has been a big success, so maybe it’s a good idea to have a period of time dedicated to balancing things out. Cardio and bodyfat have been major weak points as I’ve been chasing strength gains, and it’s hard to change focus because I still feel so weak. Perhaps a forced direction change is exactly what I need.
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Week 49: 5/3/1 Cycle 1, Week 3, Day 2 - Bench Press
Bench Press
80kg: 5
90kg: 3
100kg: 7 - top set
110kg: 1
120kg: F,S,S
80kg: 15
Pec Deck
Light: 3x10
EZ Bar Curl
30kg: 3x10
Bodyweight: 97.9kg
This was a pretty good bench press session. I’m happy with a top set of 7 reps and I was very close with 120kg (3 attempts - fail, light spot, light spot). Bodyweight is heading in the wrong direction.
Goals
The move in February has thrown a spanner in the works for my strength goals but I’m determined not to let this stop me moving forward. My new focus is going to be cardio/getting lean so I’ve joined in that T-ransformation thread and I want to get down to 90kg (198lbs). I’m certain I can maintain upper body strength with bodyweight/heavy kettlebells and I’m hopeful with my lower body. If I get to Summer with my current strength numbers but lean and fit that’ll be just great.
dude where’s the placement?
Week 49: 5/3/1 Cycle 1, Week 3, Day 3 - Squats
Squats
75kg: 5
85kg: 3
95kg: 4 - top set
105kg: 1
120kg: F
75kg: 10
All sets belted.
Hanging Leg Raises
BW: 6x5
EMOM
Pistol Squats
BW: 10x1
EMOM
Leg Press
160kg: 4x12
Stationary Bike
45min
Nothing to say about this one, same old shitty squats lol.
@Yogi1 Hey man, I’m afraid I’d rather not say exactly where it is (nothing personal, just because of my work) but it is pretty damn remote haha.
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haha, no worries dude.
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Week 49: 5/3/1 Cycle 1, Week 3, Day 4 - Press
Press
37.5kg: 5
42.5kg: 3
47.5kg: 10 - top set
60kg: 1
70kg: 1 - belted
37.5kg: 18
Pull-Ups
BW: 10, 8, 6
Incline Dumbbell Press
30kg: 8, 10, 8
Machine Row (Pulley)
61kg: 3x15
DeFranco Shoulder Shocker
Light: 3xlots
EZ Bar Curl
40kg: 3x8
Stationary Bike
50min
Next Cycle
I’ve got 5 weeks left before my move, so I think I’ll run one more cycle of 5/3/1, keeping my squat training max the same but increasing my other lifts to a true max. I’ll also add some extra sessions where I feel like it. The plan is to push it further than I would normally, take a few days off, max out and then close this chapter and move onto the next one.
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Week 49: Mock Meet
Bench Press
110kg: 1
115kg: 1
120kg: F
wrist wraps
Squat
100kg: 1
110kg: 1
115kg: 1 - PR
belt, knee sleeves (loose)
(Deficit) Deadlift
160kg: 1
170kg: 1
185kg: 1
belt, knee sleeves (loose)
Total
115kg/115kg/185kg - 415kg
253lb/253lb/407lb - 913lb
This went reasonably well. We did the wrong order and started with bench press - I was pretty confident I’d get 120kg, but it wasn’t particularly close. Squats went much better - 115kg is a post injury PR, and it was a good quality rep. I was training at a friend’s home gym and his plates are thick stubby iron plates which mean the bar sits significantly closer to the floor for deadlifts. He also only has a total of 185kg, so that’s why I didn’t go any heavier (although from a deficit 185kg certainly wasn’t easy).
I’m planning on doing another max session at the end of January (aiming for 120kg/120kg/200kg) which I’ll do with proper equipment and some rest beforehand (I was splitting logs today). But this was good fun.
Nice one mate! I think you should know that I’m mentally racing you to hit 120kg bench again. Squats are moving up again - have you got any footage of your squats?
Thanks man. Yes I’m clinging to bench as my one thing you don’t destroy me on (yet) haha. Yeah the squat was a pleasant surprise, progress has been very slow. I haven’t filmed anything but that’s a good idea, it’s definitely the lift I’m least technically sound at.
Week 49: Summary
Bodyweight: 97.9kg (only weighed myself once)
Training: Good
Nutrition: Meh
My 5/3/1 top sets went well this week and I’m very happy to have hit a squat PR with 115kg. Not much else to report.
Week 50: 5/3/1 Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 1 - Deadlifts
Deadlifts
125kg: 5 - mixed grip
145kg: 5 - belt on
160kg: 9
Pistol Squat/Hanging Leg Raise - Superset
BW: 5x1/5
Finished with a set of 10 pistols - alternating leg, 5 each side - PR
Back Extensions
BW: 2x35
Crosstrainer
30min
The 160kg deadlifts felt pretty good - I got 1 more rep than 2 weeks ago, although I was hoping for 10. I have posted a separate thread asking for critique of my deadlift. I am very happy to get my first proper set of pistol squats - up to this point I have just been doing singles.
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Week 50: 5/3/1 Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 2 - Bench Press
Bench Press
72.5kg: 5
85kg: 5
97.5kg: 9 - wrist wraps on
110kg: 2
72.5kg: 15 - wrist wraps off
Machine Row (Plate Loaded)
100kg: 6x10
EMOM
Machine Row (Pulley)
47kg: 4x15
EZ Bar Curl
30kg: 4x10
This was a solid more bodybuilding style session. 97.5kg for 9 reps puts my bench press estimated max at 125kg, which isn’t reliable but feels like a good sign.
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Week 50: Cardio
Crosstrainer
45min
I call this cardio but it isn’t really. The main benefit of the crosstrainer is active recovery for my lower back/hips as well as conditioning for my right calf/ankle.
Week 50: 5/3/1 Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 3 - Squats
Squats
65kg: 5
75kg: 5
85kg: 10 - top set
100kg: 3
110kg: 1
all sets belted
Front Squats
65kg: 5
75kg: 3
85kg: 2
all sets belted
Trap Bar Deadlift/Leg Raise - Superset
160kg: 3x5 - belted
BW: 3x5
Pistol Squats
BW: 3x3
Alternating leg - 3 each leg per set.
Crosstrainer
30min
Bodyweight: 98.4kg
This was a great session - last cycle I got 85kg for 7, so this is a significant improvement. I decided to do some front squats for the first time this log and they weren’t horrible, and the trap bar deadlifts felt pretty good for a third exercise. The pistol squats suffered from having done so much beforehand, my hips felt pretty tight.
I got a belt for Christmas and this was my first session using it. It’s a lot wider than the gym one, so I was a little apprehensive, but it felt awesome for squatting. I think I remember @T3hPwnisher saying wider ones are better for squatting and thinner ones are better for deadlifting (correct me if I’m wrong bro) so I might also get a thinner one. This belt certainly felt like it might be harder to get into proper deadlifting position.
Squats
I filmed my top set of squats - 185lbs x10 - and I was wondering if you good folk could critique it?
@MaazerSmiit @T3hPwnisher @thebird @ActivitiesGuy @jblues85
Progress
Today’s session seems pretty lame, but thinking about it I’m actually quite proud. It’s not all that long since I couldn’t weight-bear, then it exhausted me to cross my living room, then it was a huge landmark when I could squat 135lbs (in a tonne of pain), then I collapsed like a sack of turnips every time I tried a right legged pistol squat. But today my back squat is near enough back to baseline, I hit 3x5 of my previous trap bar deadlift 1rm as my third exercise and I hit solid pistols as my fifth exercise. I spend a lot of time feeling weak, but things are actually going pretty well.
Coming from a fellow tall guy, these squats looked pretty good. Got a bit pitched forward on the last couple of reps but nothing too bad. With our leverages, we are going to have more forward lean than someone with a longer torso and short legs. Depth also looked good from my end.
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I actually prefer a wide one for deadlifting too, but I’ve seen that sentiment expressed before.
Squats look pretty solid dude. I think you got a handle on it. And you’ve definitely come a long way.
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