A quick overview…
I’m a 52 year old female powerlifter who has been competing since 2008. I’ve done somewhere between 25 & 30 meets. I’ve lost track. My most recent meet was April 30. It was the first time I’ve competed in a federation that was not IPF affiliated. I typically compete in either the 57 or 63kg weight class depending on how much cheese I’ve eaten. My most recent meet I weighed in at 59.1.
I decided to give 5/3/1 a try because the volume and intensity seems pretty manageable and, as I age, recover is an issue.
Previous log Heading off the Reservation - #104 by Spock81
Cycle 1, Week 1 - Day 1
Squat
45-10
87.5-5
105-5
120-3
142.5-5
165-5
185-9 belt added
This felt very odd for me. My typically warm up is bar, 135, 165. Having multiple sets under 1 plate is weird but I’ll continue on following how it’s laid out for the next while.
SSB squat
120-3x10
Step ups (used SSB bar)
120-3x10/side
Bench
80-3x8
Landmine twists
5 plate on the bar - 3x10/side
Followed by a 3.5km walk with the dog.
BW 134.
4 Likes
Dog walks are one of, if not the, most anabolic things known to humankind.
Anyway following again.
They are pretty nice. I have a shepherd mastiff cross and she needs a lot of walking. Every time we go to take her out she acts like she’s never been walked before; she gets super excited like we’re going on a roller coaster.
Here’s a picture for reference. She’s looking up the stairs at the cats. She’s not allowed on the third floor because the cats think she’s an asshole.
5 Likes
Cycle 1, Week 1 - Day 2
Paused Bench
45-5
50-5
60-3
70-5
80-5
92.5-11
Again, this warm up felt odd in the number of sets at such a light weight.
Spoto press
65-10
75-10
80-10
I really like this but because I haven’t done it a lot I’m trying to get a feel for a good weight for assistance.
T Bench Press
65-10
75-10
85-10
Fall outs
3x10
Followed by a 5.5 km dog walk. Tuesday night was a 6km walk.
bw 134. My weight was up because I made a delicious, creamy curry that had chicken broth with a shit ton of sodium. However, my weight was down again this morning.
After all the squat accessory volume on Monday my quads were lit up like crazy. This happens after every meet taper. We have a large flight of stairs at work and I was starting to think it would be less painful to roll down than walk down.
2 Likes
Cycle 1 Week 1 Day 3
Deadlift
135-2x5 according to the spreadsheet the first set was 117 but forget that
160-3
190-5
220-5
250-6 belt added
This is the final set video. You can see how my hips get higher as I get more fatigued and I rely more on my back
Double pause deadlift
135-10
145-10
155-10
Good mornings
95-10
115-10
135-10
Single are standing dumbell press
17-3x10/side
25-10/side
I was happy with this. Last week when I tried it, I couldn’t lower the weight on the left side to my shoulder without pain but this week my mobility was better. Maybe what I needed was some unilateral work.
Followed by a 5km walk with the dog.
bw 132.5
3 Likes
Cycle 1 Week 2 Day 1
Squat
bar-10
85-5
110-5
130-3
152.5-3
175-3
197.5-6 belt added
SSB squat
bar-10
122.5-3x10
Step ups
122-5 2x10-side
122.5 15/side
While this volume wasn’t super easy, it was much better than last week
Landmine twists
10 plate on bar 3x10/side
Followed by a 5.5km walk.
BW - 134.5 up a bit Monday morning due to a delicious, high sodium beef gravy with dinner the night before.
2 Likes
Cycle 1 Week 2 Day 2
Paused bench
45-10
55-5
65-3
75-3
85-3
97.5-10
Spoto Press
75-10
85-10
90-10
T-Bench Press
75-10
85-10
90-10
Fall outs
3x10
Superset with
push ups
3x10
BW-133
Followed by a 4 km walk.
1 Like
Cycle 1 Week 2 Day 3
Deadlift
135-5
145-5
175-3
205-3
235-3 add belt
262.5-4
Double pause deadlift
145-10
155-10
165-10
Good morning
95-3x10
Bench
45-10
80-3x8
Single arm dumbell press
17-10/side
25-2x10/side
I’m very happy with how this is feeling on my left side. Mobility is better and it’s almost pain free. Maybe I should have been doing unilateral work before.
Followed by some walking. This was all Friday night and it was about 4km I think.
Over the course of Saturday we went to Toronto and walked about 13km total during the day.
1 Like
Cycle 1 Week 3 Day 1
Squat
45-2x10
85-5
110-3,5
130-3
165-3
185-3
207.5-3 add belt
When 185 felt heavy I knew I wouldn’t be knocking this out of the park.
SSB Squat
125-3x10
Step ups
125
1x10/side
2x15/side
Landmine twists
15-3x10/side
I was expecting a less than spectacular day. In the morning I took the dog on a 6km walk. In the afternoon I spent 2-3 hours gardening and tidying up the yard. I’d picked everything up on Sunday. I dug out and reseeded patchy areas of the lawn, created a small vegetable garden with herbs and tomatoes and weeded everything else. It was in rough shape. The good news is that it looks like we’re going to get another bumper crop of raspberries.
After training we went on another 3km walk with the dog.
1 Like
Cycle 1 Week 3 Day 2
Pause Bench
45-10
55-5
65-3
80-5
92.5-3
102.5-7
Spoto Press
75-10
85-10
92.5-10
T-Bench Press
75-10
85-10
92.5-10
Fall outs
3x10
superset with
Push ups
3x11
Followed by a 4km walk
bw-133.5
Cycle 1 Week 3 Day 3
Deadlift
135-5
145-5
175-3
220-5
250-3 add belt
277.5-2 These felt sucky and heavy
Double pause deadlift
170-3x10
Good morning
45-10
95-3x10
Single arm dumbell press
17-10/side
25-2x10/side
30-7 right hand/3 left These were actually using a KB which was awkward and painful. Next time I’ll just put more weight on my dumbell
Walked the dog for 5km
BW-133lbs
1 Like
Any idea when you will compete next?
I’m not sure. Likely to be November at Provincial championships but I’m feeling a bit unmotivated. We’ll see how it goes.
1 Like
Cycle 1 Week 4 Day 1 deload week
Squat
45-10
87.5-5
110-5
130-5
SSB squat
125-3x10
Step ups
125-3x10
Resistance band twists
3x10/side
I opted for these this week rather than landmine twists as they are starting to bug my left shoulder.
For the next cycle we’ll likely keep all the same assistance stuff except as noted above. I’m increasing squat squat and bench by 2.5 lbs but I think I’ll keep deadlift the same. It seemed harder than it should have for the first cycle. If it doesn’t get better, I’ll drop my max for the cycle after.
5.5km dog walk. It started to rain which wasn’t bad because it was warm out so I kept going. However, my dog hates water and was pissed to be out in the rain and walked as slow as a reluctant toddler.
1 Like
Cycle 1 Week 4 Day 2 - deload week
Paused Bench
45-10
55-5
65-5
Spoto press
75-10
85-10
92.5-10
T-Bench press
75-10
85-10
92.5-10
Fall outs
3x10
superset with pushups
3x12
Followed by a 6km walk. I went a bit further than typical because I was almost at the end of an audio book I’ve been listening to and really enjoying.
2 Likes
What book? Do you miss reading as opposed to listening?
The book is called “Twenties Girl” and is the literary equivalent of a meringue cake. It’s lovely and enjoyable without there being a ton of substance to it. With audiobooks quite a bit is the reader. The woman doing this one did an excellent job and made it much more comical than it might otherwise have been.
I read books all the time. I also enjoy listening to them. However, in my mind, they are two distinctly different activities. Listening is more like watching TV to me. I have ebooks on the go at the same time as audiobooks.
My current ebook is about several women in the years following the end of WWII whose husbands were executed following the failed assassination on Hitler. It’s filled with the grayness of morality and the brutality of a defeated nation at the close of a war.
My current audiobook (finished the meringue one 
)is a Ken Follett historical fiction that opens in the Welsh coal mines in the early 20th century just prior to WWI.
I think your brain absorbs aural information quite differently than visual information. While I can sit and read for hours, to listen to a book, I have to be doing something physical. I listen to audiobooks driving, walking, gardening, cleaning etc. I would have a difficult time just sitting and listening. I also tend to lean more to humour in audiobooks and love David Sidaris. He reads his own.
I usually don’t check logs, but your title in the news feed thing cracked me up and I’m a big 5/3/1 fan. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get your training maxes? They look quite a bit high, most people seem to make the best progress in the 85% range, where you’re at least getting 5 or so on the 3rd week. It’s been a while, but I remember when my reps dropped down on the PR’s my progress slowed down big time. I don’t fully get what you’re doing with supplemental/assistance either, but if it seems to be a good combo that works for you and doesn’t detract from the main lift that’s what matters. Anyways, good stuff, awesome dog, best of luck.
Hey there. To answer…
Training maxes are 90% of actual maxes. Assistance is really to keep a bit of supplemental volume in on weak areas. eg. double pause deadlift to assist off the floor, good mornings for p.c. etc.
This is the first time I’ve run this program in my 10 years of training so the jury is still out on it’s efficacy for my goals. I’m starting my second cycle Monday so that may be a bit more telling. It’s only going up 2.5 lbs per lift outside of deadlift which felt too heavy and I’ll run the same weight again to see what it’s like. If it’s still feeling like ass, I’ll drop the max weight for cycle three. Deadlift is the lift that contributes the most to my total and can be tricky for me. A bit of extra physical stuff going on at home and it’s is impacted so I don’t read too much into it.
Also, because I compete fairly regularly, I won’t want to get away from what are to me, heavy weights. 5 reps in week three would be too light for where I need to be. Having said that, the first cycle didn’t feel great but that may be for a couple of reasons 1.) I competed the end of April and the more meets I do at my age, the longer the recovery window 2.) The weather is warming up and I’m outside a lot doing much more than I did in the cold months.
I’ll likely give it to the end of the year with a bit of fine tuning.
