Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum | 531 and Other Stuff

[Deadliftnstill]

Updates
May 23 Epiphany, Reset see post 62.

Quick Bio:
Australian (Riverina NSW), Male, 25yo, married, 1 (11mo) kid. I’m Aussie so everything is kg and metres and Celcius etc.
1.76m short, currently 89kg but should be more like 80-85kg.
Former fat kid so have some iffy food relationships that my travelling job doesn’t help.
Have a home gym, rack, bench, 2nd hand elitefts GHD, assault bike, dbells, kbells, etc.
Right ankle reconstruction from a rugby league injury, mostly trouble free, just can be a bit tight sometimes.

Lifting History:
Lifted fairly consistently for 10 years, but never knew what i was lifting FOR. So have dabbled in bodybuilding, tried Crossfit a bunch of times, Followed 531 with a bodybuilding twist, etc.
Since marriage and a kid came along, it’s mostly been fighting off a dadbod (pure vanity).
But I’ve been reading a lot of @T3hPwnisher 's blog and then found here, decided to join, and now decided to put it out there. Not sure why, partly accountability, partly for the mindset that people have here (don’t have a friend group who are majorly into this), partly for a sounding board. There are many great training logs that sort of inspired me.
Maybe no one will read this solipsistic ramble and that’s ok too. Putting it out there is the kick I need right now.
My PRs of a few years ago seem a bit out of reach right now with where I’m only 25, so my best lifitng years are really ahead of me. Just need the kick to get back on the train.

The Vision:
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war. The idea is sort of a “be Dangerous”, “more trouble than you’re worth” vibe, but I’m not that original so I stole the title from a Seether Album.

Standards:
I have a list of arbitrary standards I have set for myself that I need to hit. These will make no sense and some are contradictory, but they give me a North Star to chase.

• Weight <85kg
• Waist <32inches
• 5km time <25min
• 1km time <4min
  -Pullups >15
• Dips >25
• Squat with BW on bar >25reps
• Swings 100 in 5 min, 10 per hand every 30 sec, 32kg
• TGU weight - 32kg (Simple& Sinsister, simple rule) (1 min after swings)
• L-sit 1 min
• Straddle planche hold 1 min
  The big lifts: the goal here is to be “strong ENOUGH”
• 5 reps of 2.5xBW DL (212.5)
• 5 reps at 2xBW Squat (170)
• 5 reps at 1xBW press (85)
• 5 reps of 1.5x BW Clean (127.5)
• 5 reps of 1.5x BW Bench (127.5)

Now, Jim always says to pursue one goal at a time so will detail here:
April - June Focus 2023
My current focus is fat loss - since Christmas last year I’ve let things slide a bit, work and all the usual excuses. Get down to 85kg, Waist to 32" (only 33" ATM).
I’m running 531 with 5x5 FSL to keep strength and volume under control, trying to gradually increase conditioning (It’s the part of 531 I always ignored, just starting to understand Jim now!)
Have come off the back of BBB Beefcake followed with BtM, so needed a low volume break to focus on fat loss.
Since the Start of the year, I have had 2 complete cycles (had a program carry over from 22).

C3 TMs:
Squat: 140kg
Bench: 100kg
DL: 170kg
Press: 70kg

Anyway, will log some training and if anyone reads it, that’s a bonus!

[Deadliftnstill]

C3/W2/D4 Deadlift 5s week, 8pm session. Bit of a get in and grt it done session, dont like training this late.

Im trialling 351 style.

Warmup involing kbell swings, goblet squats, back raises.
Deadlift
110 x5
127.5 x5
145 x 10 (Belted, mixed grip Right Hand Supinated)

FSL 110x 5x5 (Belted). EMOM because i was feeling spicy.

Kroc Rows
35 x10, 10, 25 unstrapped + 10 more with straps

Push, pull, core done as a a circuit.
Chins x 5,7,8,7,10
Dips x 10,10,10,8,10
Rollouts on knees x 10,8,8,10,10
All done on a timer, 9:48

Did an assault reverse Tabata i.e. 10 on, 20 off.
47 cals, 2km. Below best of 59 cals, but pretty drained atm.

All wrapped up in 41:47

[Deadliftnstill]

If you read, you may wonder about the rows then push, pull, core.

I am taking a leaf from Pwn and making rows another supplemental move, along with the FSL.

Plus there is some noughties bro science that you need to pull 2x your push, maybe Dave Tate or someone. And Jim or someone always said strong backs make everything stronger.

The PPC/SL is then assistance, and i can drop if smashed for time.

[T3hPwnisher]

Appreciate the nod in the initial post there dude. Good to have you as a reader! This looks exciting.

@Deadliftnstill

I am taking a leaf from Pwn and making rows another supplemental move, along with the FSL.

Gotta be someone else, haha. I’m so terrible about rows, and they’re never anything I program. But in BBB Beefcake, they’re paired with the supplemental, so I’ll do them there.

[Deadliftnstill]

Thanks mate.

Morning conditioning done
Not a lot of time, have to travel today so just did something.

10x 24kg kbell swings
1-10 burpees, increasing 1 rep per round
All done in 8:51

Then “sandbag Grace”. I dont have a sandbag, its a cheapo kmart crossfit (soft) medball, filled with gravel and sand. Not even sure what it weighs!
30 ground to overhead, 3:40

Moving a bit slow this morning but its done!

[Deadliftnstill]

Morning session,
C3/W3/D1 Press, 1s week.
This was done in a hotel gym due to travel.

Press, 1st rep from floor each set.
52.5 x5, 60 x3, 62.5 x3
FSL 52.5 x5x5
Super set with
Chest supported cable machine row 5x10

Lat raise x 5sets x10 reps
SS w/ Bent Over LR 5x10
All with 12.5kg per hand. 20s rest between supersets, just chasing the pump, the rest just to give grip a rest and stop form getting too trashy

Arms
Cable pushdown x 15,15,15,10
SS w/
Cable preacher curl 15,13,10,12

Finisher. Bodyweight squats.
50, 10 sec rest, 35, 10 sec, 15

Done in 38:58

[simo74]

Good to see another Aussie in here. Some great goals there mate and 531 will definitely help you get there.

Tagging in some other Aussies to say hi
@wiseman83
@kleinhound
@raven78

Tagging @SvenG just cause he loves 531 and conditioning so this will be right up his alley.

[raven78]

In for the follow, I’m located in the Adelaide Hills fwiw.

Running 351 atm too. Conditioning… love to loathe it, but it’s gotta be done!

[wiseman83]

Following also man. Illawarra region here, love me coastal bullshit.

In for gains…but mostly I’m here for more amazing words. “Solipsistic”, a great start.

Carry on young fella.

[Deadliftnstill]

Thanks all! Love to have you all on board. I’ll follow along too, so many great logs and so little time!

[SvenG]

Thanks for the tag, @simo74! I am all things “5/3/1 and Other Stuff,” as @Deadliftnstill titles it, so this is a match made in heaven, haha!

@Deadliftnstill - Lots of great work going on in here! I’m in for the follow.

Cheers, all!

[Deadliftnstill]

Thanks @SvenG! Glad to have you along.
Have been reading your log. The whole C/W/D is so much clearer than the dog ears all through my paper notebook so im going to steal it! Love having experience like yours to steal from.

[hillbillyk]

I’m not Australian but just chiming in to say welcome aboard. You’ve already got most of the guys tagged in here you’ll need if you ever require training advice, so I’ll just be watching and cheering for ya! (Unless you need advice on how to play bad blues guitar, work on heavy equipment hydraulic systems, or hunt deer and elk with a bow and arrow. Then I’m your guy, haha.) Anyway, welcome!

[Deadliftnstill]

C3 W3 D2 squat

Today was nearly a “forced rest”, but had 30 mins so turned my squat workout into a weird circuit

Run as a tri set
Squat warmup sets x3, 105 x5, 120 x3, 132.5 x4, 105 x 5x5(FSL)
Chin 11 sets of 5
Dip 11 sets of 5
All done in 23 mins. This gassed me hard.

Next set
GHR (banded cos im so weak) x 8,8,8
Rope handle kbell upright row 24kg x 15,15,15

All done in 29:38

[Deadliftnstill]

Casual pickup touch league game with the bro in laws who are here this weekend.

45 mins. Slower moving than i like but pretty much non stop movement.

[Deadliftnstill]

Been a doozy of a long weekend with family. All feasting and socialising, so we’ll need a self imposed famine now!

Today i did manage a hike in the mountains with 8 river crossings and a cold llunge into the pool at the bottom of a waterfall, so that was cool

Back to training in earnest tomorrow. As this resulted in an unplanned deload, will skip the next deload week and roll into a normal 531 cycle. Will go back to 531, I dont love 351 unless Jim mandates it for a particular program (like BBB Beefcake).

[SvenG]

I’m a city boy, and though I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the great outdoors at various points in my life, it STILL amazes me that places like this exist in the world.

Absolutely beautiful!

[Deadliftnstill]

Cheers Sven, I’m from a country town but there is so much unexplored territory within a few hours. Working through that bucket list!

[Deadliftnstill]

Today Im starting a “blast” of the Velocity diet 2.0, albeit sans Met. Drive (ive got a budget and shipping kills it). The idea is to do 10 days of it, with one solid meal mostly being whatever the wife is cooking that day, except weekends (when i cook) will be a “hunt meal” i.e. lots of meat. Will also do fish oil, magnesium and creatine.
The idea here is to rapidly drop the water weight and reset the post binge cravings for more junk, before switching back to a more sustainable diet.

Starting weight 89.9. Im sadly still only 176cm tall, maybe this diet will fix that?

Will do some before and afters for my own benefit.

Curious to see how much coffee i need to survive and how training is affected.

[Deadliftnstill]

C3 W3 D3 Bench
Bench 75 x5, 85 x3, 95 x3, jokers 105x1, 115x1
Benching fairly close grip, my shoulders definitely prefer it.

FSL 75x 5x5
Ss with
Tbar row 70x 5x10.

Thrusters 40kg 3x7
Ss
Strict chins 3x7
Was going to do fat fran (aka 3x7, 3x5, 3x3) but as soon as I started thrusters I knew that was going to be a bad plan, would dig the recovery hole I cant climb out of with the shakes

Settled for a pump instead.
Poundstone curl 20 x50 (in the squat rack)
Dbell skull crushers 10s x20+10+5+5

Done in 40:3]

I have 5 local blokes who all gym, and last year we did an informal “meet” aka gym records for SBD. Heard tonight they want to do another one in June, so threw some jokers in, and will continue to do so over the next cycle.
Havent touched the same weights since the last meet, did 160 squat, 100 bench, 200 DL, def not lifetime PRs but reflect where i was post ankle surgery. Pleased i moved a casual 15kegs more tonight on a random post binge bench day.