I think I am just an old pussy.
Just saying.
Five reps close to max wear me out. To the extreme. and, it just takes forever.
I’d rather just do three sets of eight and be done, but again, I’m just a pussy.
3 Likes
I’ll join the Mythical mans log, maybe I’ll gain some of those mythical gainzzzz.
Been reading through your log… not al of it but part of it, it’s a long one.
Nice log you’re having 
5/3/1 is something I’ve been doing for about a year now. It’s great. You can do whatever you want, as long as you stick to the main lifts, and even the main lifts can be done in separate ways. original with 5+, just the reps, 5 a cross, hell even 3 a cross with DL.
BUT KEEP THE DL… We where born to pick up heavy shit from the ground.
2 Likes
I’ll disagree here. I think it’s probably the one of the least useful big lifts if you aren’t a powerlifter, or strongman. It’s just too easy to fuck yourself up and it takes a lot more than it gives.
Something like front squats and heavy barbell rows between them will most probably give you almost identical results to deadlifting, without the recovery burden. Add in squats as a main lift on a separate day and you’re pretty set.
3 Likes
Well Mark I am not going to argue to much about this one.
I think you know a heck of a lot more than I do.
Personally DL is a good lift. It’s hard, and it can bite if you treats it without respect.
Heavy BB row beats the shit out of my lower back. Probably because of bad form.
So I did argue a bit, anyway.
But @The_Myth should listen to you Mark, you are the wiser guy. I am merely a beginner.
3 Likes
Right on, appreciate the follow. Not really much here to look at, just an old man trying to stay in some form of shape - other than round.
Yep, this is my second time around on 5/3/1, I’ve read the original and Forever so I am familiar with it. Sometimes I get sideways with some stuff - for instance, I’m doing amrap with 5’s Pro, something you shouldn’t do, lol. I just started up, so I’m in my fives week, so I don’t think amrap is that egregious for now.
Thanks for reading!
1 Like
Well I’m kind of an old guy too. Us old guys should stick together.
1 Like
Funny how everyone can be so different. I think rows can mess up your lower back more than deads because the bar can drift further from your body. I also blame front squats (their depth) for my hip surgery.
Deadlifts are useful but we don’t have to pull 5 plates to reap the benefits. I think a 3 plate pull is plenty good enough to be useful in real life.
People can screw up just about any lift with bad form or too much ego. Deadlifts are a common source if injury but I bet it’s because people are using too much weight and poor form. It’s not the lift; it’s the lifter.
1 Like
I was hitting crazy reps on my + sets because I really had my TMs too low and I wasn’t really getting much work in besides that top set (other working sets were too low % to really work so they were just extended warmups)
TBH though, that’s kinda what I needed at the time because I was just getting back to training consistently after a 3-4 year layoff. My strength gains were very rapid and exponential in the first 6 weeks of 5/3/1 Triumvirate because I was not a “beginner”.
Keep your TMs low if you like doing the high rep stuff - increase them some if you don’t like (I see below you are less inclined to like the high rep stuff).
I took a week off and tested my 3 rep maxes after 6 weeks of Tri so I could get a better idea of where I was at compared to when I just started back training consistently.
Still, there’s something to be said for a 20 rep squat set (no matter the weight)
Good luck.
2 Likes
Yes! Build your body like you build your game!
2 Likes
1-25-2018
5/3/1 I guess
OHP
75x5, 85x5, 95x5, 75x8x3 (FSL, or something like that)
BPA’s and crunches between some, lat pull downs between others
Incline curls SS with tricep rollovers (not sure if that’s what they’re called) 3x10 EA
Giant set FP’s, hammer curls, TPD’s, shrugs 4x10 (x15 on shrugs and FP’s)
Weighed in at 194.2 this morning at 16% on the Omron so I have gained a few pounds during my slacking. I have decided to do 5/3/1 with FSL, sort of a BBB deal but with other assistance to gain mass. I need to bring up my chest, shoulders, arms, legs, and back. Other than that, I’m good.
I’m not going to worry about my weight and just eat what I want and see what happens. I haven’t been tracking in a long time so I figure if I can just get to the gym four days a week and do some volume, I’ll be okay. I will for sure start cutting about April for Summer, so until then, the gloves are off.
I’ll squat tomorrow, do some leg curls and leg extensions, maybe front squats for my BBB assistance on the squats, and then do some shit for my scrawny forearms. Bench on Saturday with FSL for BBB, some incline, and probably some pec deck. Add in some back stuff, maybe hypers to make up for no DL.
Rinse. Repeat.
1 Like
Let’s be fat!
I’ve been busting my ass in the gym for over a decade and haven’t changed a bit. That’s the problem. I guess I need more mass. I used to chase hypertrophy gains and thought I was as big as my body would allow me to be without going to extremes. I figured I was at about 85% of what I could achieve naturally when it comes to physique----and that last 15% ain’t worth the work it would require.
So I changed my focus to strength. I told myself “I can get stronger without gaining weight.” Well, I’ve failed at that too.
The one thing I haven’t done is gain some weight and commit to that process. I’ve gained, and then I’ve cut, and then I’ve lost unintentionally, and then I’ve gained, but I’m always around 220-225 lbs.
I think it’s time to try something different (which will be way out of my comfort zone) and gain some weight. So, again, let’s be fat!
2 Likes
I feel ya bro.
Brief history - I was athletic growing up, can unabashedly say I was a great baseball player until high school when I found girls and alcohol. I was a late bloomer and my friends passed me by and I lost interest and started partying too much. Later, I grew, but my time had passed.
I got introduced to weight training when I transferred into the public high school in my town and tried out for football. It stuck with me, but never anything other than doing a few beach curls every now and then.
In college I ballooned up to a gooey 220 at 6’1". I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it was a very fat 220 - I know now it was probably 30% body fat. I got a role in a play and got down to 205 and looked the same.
Then, I went crazy. I dropped to 159 and was wearing 30" Levis. I’ve been afraid of being fat ever since.
A few years ago I got up to 215 again, but was about 25% body fat. I got freaked out and dropped down to 180 around 22% body fat. I was lifting, but still ignorant. I got on TRT (I’m 54 now) and started doing some research and did Starting Strength. I don’t know it it was the T, or actually following a program, but I got into good shape, 195 at about 18%.
I feel like I’ve been stuck around 160 pounds LBM since then. If I gain, I gain more fat than muscle, and if I lose, I lose more muscle than fat. I was down to 175 this Summer and about 12%, but again, always around 160 LBM.
That’s what I want to change - but I’m afraid of being fat again. And, at 54, I have a few health issues that pop up when I get up around 200 - apnea and blood sugar - so I have to walk a fine line. I think eventually I’m going to have to really dial in my diet to get to where I want to be - 195 @ 12% (legit 12).
So, for what it’s worth, that’s what I’m dealing with.
You, on the other hand, have height and youth on your side. Go get it!
3 Likes
My training age is plenty high though. It’s been 15 years since my newb gains. During my summer break of 2002 I gained 20 lbs. I ate a lot of crap, worked a landscaping job every weekday, played a lot of baseball, and lifted 6 days a week. I can even remember leaving the family reunion to go lift on a Sunday afternoon.
From what I’ve read I might be able to gain 0.5-1.0 lbs of muscle per month. I’m sure I’ll have to gain a little fat and my body will store more glycogen (if I’m successful at adding muscle) so I’ll have to gain more than a pound. My goal is to gain 1.5 lbs per month. Hopefully I can stay conservative and commit to the journey.
Even if I only add 3 lbs this year and next then I’ll be up 6 lbs of muscle in 2020. If I stick with it then it could be 20 lbs by the time I’m 40 (33 now).
The big picture is full of possibilities. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to see this until now and I’ve pissed away a decade making no progress. Stupid abs and they’re hold on my brain.
3 Likes
Man I feel you here, turning 54 this year.
I’m kind of skinny at 175 lbs 2 years ago i was about 196 lbs, lost weight over a year to 165 lbs. Gaining slowly now at 175 lbs. AND that is NOT 10 pounds of muscle, darn it.
It feels like every pound of weight sits on my stomach.
So my Mythical friend IF you find the secret to gain muscles (and strength) at our age please let me know
Lets all join the road to — fat.
1 Like
1-26-2018
C1W2D1 - SQ
45x5, 95x5, 135x3, 150x5, 170x5, 190x5
Used the I Ain’t Doing Jack Shit template today. Made a deal with myself - If I went to the gym I would just do my main lift and GTFO, so that’s what I did. Less than thirty minutes.
On the upside - made it to the gym three times in the last six days. I may or may not bench tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be more into it and get in some assistance work as well. Had a good pump after OHP the other day, so there’s that.
All good.
5 Likes
1-27-2018
C1W2D2 - BP
45x10, 65x5, 95x5, 105x5, 120x5, 135x5, 105x8x3 (FSL)
Krocs between sets 35x10x4
Pec Dec 4x10
Hammer Strength incline bench 95x10x4
35 minutes, lol. I think I’m going to keep this up and maybe do a light squat day between BP and OHP and see what happens.
3 Likes
2-6-2018
C1W2D1 - OHP
45x5, 65x5, 80x5, 90x5, 100x5, 8x5x3 (FSL)
Between sets, BPA’s 5x25, crunches 5x30, Lat PD’s 100x10x4, Shrugs 90x12x4
Just happy to be back in the gym.
3 Likes
Heyy I feel ya on the terrified of getting fat thing. When I did my meet in 2012 I was over 150lbs
On a 5 foot zero chick , it was a lot. I’m not so good with the happy medium kinda thing so when I hated how I looked at that weight I got down to like 114 which was wayyy too low. But then a minor gain usually gets me above 140 so any good indulgences or weight gain consideration scares the shit out of me. Maybe it’s scarier when you’ve seen yourself at such a disatsisfying weight I dunno . Always lean people don’t know what to fear lol !
2 Likes
“Well” is relative, lol. I mean, I’m still alive, and not in jail, so that is good. Glad to see you back, thanks for checking in.
2-7-2018
C1W2D2 - SQ
BWx10, 45x5, 95x5, 115x3, 135x2, 150x5, 170x5, 190x5, 150x8x3
I did curls in between, 5x12.
I think I am repeating week two by accident, but after the break, it’s all good. Top set was easy, the 150x8x3 was mildly challenging - feel cramping in my hammies. Pretty sure that metabolic system is week (forget which one that is, let my CSCS studies lag), so it’s a good thing for me to do. I’ve never really squatted for reps, so maybe I should start. The plan is to BP tomorrow, then light squat on Friday so maybe I’ll do it for reps then.
Felt good to put two days together. Keeping my fingers crossed I can make it three tomorrow.
Get my kids on Friday - first time I have had them both for an overnight since I moved out. Looking forward to it.
Peace out.
5 Likes