Pretty good. If I had to pick something out I’d say to pull with more intent and aggression. Generate more tension at the start and apply more force faster (power?). Low % of 1RM is light weight and should be pulled fast and rag dolled.
I see your point. I’m gonna have to learn that without it being a grip and rip pull cause grip and rip makes the lower back flexion more apparent/worse. Really want to learn how to be tight and pull slack out of the bar and then lifting aggressively. Needs more practice. Thanks man!
13 April 2019
Barbell Row 40kg x 3 x 10
Bench 37.5 x 5, 42.5 x 5, 47.5 x 10 (rep PR), FSL 3x5
Cable Lat Pull Down 47.5kg x 3 x 10
Seated Cable Pec Deck Flyes 100 lbs x 3 x 10
Standing Cable Face Pulls 22.5kg x 3 x 10
Finished all my upper body work before I squatted. When it was time to squat, a group of guys were already using the rack. Wrong move. Oh well
Goals next week:
Squat: 90kg x 8
Bench: 50kg x 10
Deadlift: 90kg x 10
OHP: 37.5 x 8
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15 April 2019
Squat 70 x 3, 80 x 3, 90kg x 6, FSL 3x5.
Really bummed I missed my goal by 2 reps. Called it at 6 because I felt my lower back round on the 6th rep.
Knee was fine all this time but as soon as I did my first rep with just the barbell, I felt it. Pain scale 0.5 to 1/10, if you could even call it pain. Really weird.
Seated cable leg press 3 plates per leg x 10 x 3
Seated one armed cable rows 4 plates x 10 x 5
Lots of people in the gym even if office hours weren’t done yet. Must be because of holy week.
18 April 2019
Lifted in a makeshift home turned commercial gym because the usual gym I go to is closed due to holidays. It had a barbell, so we’re good.
Deadlift 70 x 3, 80 x 3, 90 x 8 kg (rep PR), FSL 3 x 5
OHP 30 x 3, 32.5 x 3, 37.5 x 8 kg (rep PR), FSL 3 x 5
Pull ups BW 5 (half reps) x 3 sets super setted with
Dips BW 5 reps.
Barely survived the 5 half reps lol. Oh well, baby steps
Side lateral raise 10 lbs x 12 then super setted with 5 lbs x 10 for dem gainzzz
Weights were in lbs so they weren’t exactly the weights posted above. Give or take 5 lbs total
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What do you think so far?
How do you like the top set and back-offs vs what you were doing before? What about the assistance work? Do you feel like it will help build your lifts?
Submaximal weights are a godsend! Progress seems slow but looking at it with a long term mindset, it seems more sustainable
The top sets are fun! Nice to challenge myself reach the number of reps I set in my head before I do the lift but so far I’d like to think that I’m not sacrificing rep quality just to reach the number too. Feels nice to feel that you’ve accomplished a goal each and every workout
Admittedly, without the FSL, the plain 5/3/1 progression seems low in terms of volume. FSL makes up for that
About the assistance, I haven’t done them for long enough so I’ll have to get back to you on that. Emphasis has shifted to being able to do dips and pull ups though so I think those provide more bang for your buck compared to other assistance exercises with machines
BTW, those giant or supersets feel really time efficient to do! Thanks for that
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Soon. Slowly but surely.
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22 April 2019
Same gym as last time so weights were in lbs. Weights were 1.5 to 2 kg heavier and lighter for bench and squat than listed respectively, more or less.
Bench 40 x 3, 45 x 3, 50 x 7 (rep PR), FSL 3x5
Could have gone for an 8th rep but I wasn’t benching in a squat rack, so no pins for safety. Didn’t want to risk it. Unrack also set me off as the j hooks were lower than usual since they weren’t adjustable. Simply wasn’t used to the set up but tried to stay tight as best I could.
Pullups BW 5 sets of 3 reps supersetted with dips BW 5 reps 4 sets
5 sets of 3 reps as suggested by @guineapig. Rep quality on the pullups were better. Still need a little hitching when initiating the very first rep of the set. Subsequent reps were lower than previous, so that’s good
Squats 70 x 3, 80 x 3, 90 x 6
Called it at 6 cause I didn’t like how fast my reps were descending, making the ascent a little harder since there was less control than I’d like
That pain in my knee is still there, but it’s not any worse, even on heavier weights. I think it does cause me to rely a little more on my right side though so that might be bad.
I know Wendler says you’re supposed to bust your balls on the AMRAP sets and I may not be pushing myself as hard as I should, but I think keeping form should still hold higher importance for me at this stage.
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5/3/1 week goals
S 95 x 8
B 52.5 x 8
D 95 x 8
OHP 40 x 7
I think he also states that reps should be without any significant form break down.
You could say you busted your balls, you did a rep PR on bench meaning you’re stronger than last time you did that weight.
Good call on squats if you’re having some naggings or pain in the knee, then better safe than sorry.
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Good point. Thanks mort!
24 April 2019
Squat 75 x 5, 85 x 3, 95 x 7 (rep PR), FSL 3x5
1 rep short of goal but I’m happy. Weight was a little heavy so towards the last few reps I wasn’t thinking anymore. Forgot to take a video too
Seated single leg press 3 plates 10 reps x 3 (?)
Dips 5 x 5 (?)
Honestly can’t remember the sets for leg press and dips cause I was talking with friends lol
Bench 42.5 x 5, 47.5 x 3, 52.5 x 5
Didn’t try for a PR because dips came first since I thought the rack was gonna be occupied for long.
Lat pull downs 50kg x 10 x 3
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30 April 2019
Huge PRs today! Last lift was April 24 so had plenty of rest…sorta
Deadlift 75 x 5, 85 x 3, 95 x 10!! (rep PR) Well, 93kg to be exact. Plates were in lbs. Felt my back round at 7th or 8th rep I think. Knew I had more in the tank but I got stubborn and pushed it to 10 reps just for the heck of. Will post a video
OHP 30 x 5, 35 x 3, 40 x 8! (PR) 38.5kg actually
Side lateral raise 10lbs x 10 x 5
Didn’t have much time left so just did 1 set of dips AMRAP and got 8 which is also a PR
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It’s raining PR’s here, well done. Quality
Thanks Mort! Well to be fair, it’s only my first cycle of 5/3/1
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From Tuesday’s session
Hey @chris_ottawa, is my form improving? I know the last few reps were getting sloppy though
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It looks good, even at the end there is no major form breakdown. Keep it up and focus on getting stronger.
If you have to lift off of mats then you should be standing on one as well, otherwise it’s like a low block pull.
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Glad to hear that! Thanks for all your help man! Really appreciate it
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Eat lots. Get fat. Profit