Marcos's Customized 5/3/1

Been lifting for about two years. Entering first powerlifting meet December 9
Stats:
Age: 20
5’9 165
Squat 330
Deadlift 365
Bench 250.
Press 150

Minimized warm-up sets, and a combination of pause reps and first set last as back-off sets.

1 Like

6/6/17
Day 1 Week 1
Bench Press
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 10
3 count pause Bench Press
185 3x3
Incline Machine Press and Rope Tricep Pushdown for accessory movements.

Welcome, I’m always in for a good Wendler log

Thank you! Looks like we have similar numbers and you’re also on 5/3/1, look forward to tracking each other’s progress.

1 Like

6/7/17
Day 2 Week 1
Sumo Deadlift
Barbell Warm-Up: SLD, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
275x5
Been dealing w/ a right quad strain so working with lighter weights for the first few weeks should give me time to heal while also getting some work in. Definitely not going to push the reps until my quad feels better. This goes for squats as well.
High Row Machine 3x10
Low Row Machine 3x10
Hammer Curls 35 lbs 3x10

Not any kind of knock, just curiosity, but can you explain your customization a little bit? I’m a huge fan of 5/3/1, but have programmed for myself with success before. That was in the Olympic lifting/crossfit world, but I like to hear others takes on training. Even if I don’t use it, I still think one can learn from others.

After warm-ups I plan on doing less working sets in an effort to stay fresh for my main set. For drop-off sets I’m doing a combo of 3 count pause reps as I feel they help teach me to stay tight and reinforce proper movement patterns, as well as first last(Or what would’ve been the first set). The biggest and most notable change is I plan on replacing every other press day with bench press, repeating the same workout I did prior. While pressing is important I feel the 1:1 ratio between OHP and bench press is rather unnecessary for someone interested in powerlifting. I also plan on lifting about 5 maybe 6 days per week as I don’t plan on doing much conditioning work and prefer working with higher frequency.

1 Like

6/8/17
Day 3 Week 1
Press
45 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 10
BBB 70 lbs 5 x 10
V Bar tricep push down
Seated side lateral raises

6/9/17
Day 4 Week 1
Squat
Barbell Warm-Up: SLD, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
255x5
Still dealing with pain in my right quad. Feels like a knot and makes it hard to explode out the bottom. Starting to feel better though. Still completed the sets easily.

6/10/17
Day 1 Week 2
Bench Press
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 2
205 x 5
V-Bar Tricep Pushdown
Was aiming for 6-7 reps but didn’t sleep well and performance was affected.

6/11/17
Day 2 Week 2
Conventional Deadlift
Barbell Warm-Up: Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
295x5
Quad was still bothering me so I went with a conventional stance.
Lat Pulldown 3x10
Low Row Machine 3x10
Other Lat Pulldown Machine 3x10
One-Arm Cross Cable Laterals 3x15
Bodyweight 170, Plan on bulking to 185-190 and then competing at 181 come meet time
I know no one would recommend doing 5/3/1 at such an insane frequency, but I just love being in the gym. As long as I keep progressing I plan on keeping it this way.

6/12/17
Day 3 Week 2
Bench Press
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 2
205 x 6
Supersets of pec deck fly / rear delt fly machine

6/13/17
Day 4 Week 2
Squat
Barbell Warm-Up: SLD, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
265x3
275x3
295x3
275 4x3
Leg felt alot better and was able to push it much more. Still not quite 100%. Still had a great session and I’m pretty sure it was somewhat of a volume pr.

1 Like

6/8/17
Bodyweight 171
Day 1 Square 3 (Square instead of week, makes more sense)
Press
45 x 10
95 x 5
120 x 11
Seated Press (easier than standing as you can brace a lot better)
120 3 x 5, pausing on the last 1-2 reps of each set
E-Z curl upright rows 50x10 60x10 70 2x10
Lateral Raises 25 2x10 followed by 4 drop-off sets

Conventional Deadlift
Barbell Warm-Up: Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
275x1
315x1
335x5,
Shrugs
315 2x7
3x10 Pullups using varied grips superset with cable bicep curls, lat pullover, and cross body cable row
Idek how I have so much energy every day, only take caffeine pills for pre workout and get a major pump.

Have decided to enter the USA Powerlifting Palmetto Classic in my home city of Greenville, SC on August 26. Leaning towards slowly slimming to 163 as I won’t have enough time to fully bulk to 181.
http://www.usaplsc.com/events

1 Like

6/16
Day 4 Week 4
Squat
Barbell Warm-Up: SLD, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
275x3
315x2,1,1

Paused bench
215 3x3
Pausing is def much harder, still learning to stay tight.

Gonna work with re calculating my#s. Would otherwise follow 531 to the tee but meet is 12 wks out and the progression is just too slow.

6/18
Day 1 Square 1 Cycle 2
Squat
Barbell Warm-Up: SLD, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
275x7
Could’ve gotten more but just stopped right there.

6/19
Day 2 Square 1 Cycle 2
Paused bench
195 1x7
Pec flies
Pausing is taking a toll on my wrists, might invest in wrist wraps.

6/20
Day 3 Square 1 Cycle 2
Deadlift
Barbell Warm-Up: SLD, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
315xq
345x2
315 3x3
Def my weakest lift
315 shrugs, 225 shrugs, 135 power ups (kinda in between a shrug and upright row)
Lat Pull down machine and T-bar Row machine

6/21
Day 4 Square 1 Cycle 2
Paused bench
210 2x3
185 3x5
3x10 Pullups using varied grips superset with rope bicep curls, lat pullover, and tricep pushdowns

6/22
Day 1 Square 2 Cycle 2
Squat
Barbell Warm-Up: SLD, Sumo Deadlift, Squats, Presses
135x5
225x3
275x1
300x3
Low back feeling sore from conv. deads.