With today’s workout I finished my 3rd cycle of the Wendler 5/3/1 method, following a general “boring but big” template 3x a week with a little metcon/GPP. Started to also experiment with working on grip, and changing around my metcon/GPP.
I’m still very pleased with this workout program. It’s slow progress, but there’s progress and my body generally feels happy for it. This is all good. I’m happy with the direction, the results, and where things are going. I see little reason to change the basic program, but I do see some tweaks coming.
First, as has been mentioned in my logs, I’m changing up my GPP. Jumping rope just isn’t going to cut it any more. When the guy with the Prowler shows up, I’m going to do that because it r00l3z. But since it may not always happen, I’m going to sprint instead. I need to come up with a reasonable routine for the sprinting, but my hope is that will work. My desired goal here isn’t just to increase my conditioning, but also to see about accelerating some fat loss. I don’t want to do some sort of “cutting” cycle where I cut back on calories, cut back on the strength work, all in an effort to just drop fat… because as far as I can see, you can do things wisely and drop some fat, maybe slowly, but that’s fine. For this 4th cycle I’m not going to directly change much other than what I do for GPP, but I have thought that perhaps during the 5th cycle I might try changing the diet up for the 6 weeks of the cycle, leaving my strength weights alone (i.e. do 4th cycle weights again), and see if I can drop 10# of fat. But we’ll see… I’ll figure that out in about 6 weeks.
I think I’m going to need to invest in a good pair of running shoes. The Chucks are great for most of my working out, but the running? It’s going to hurt.
I’ve also had some thoughts about adding a little more work to my workout sessions. Yes, a little more “bodybuilding” type stuff (see Wender on a bb template), because yes I’d like to put on a little more muscle mass in some areas. But I don’t know yet. I think I’d rather focus on some of the fat shedding, but we’ll see. Much to think about. Won’t be happening this 4th cycle.
Another thing is working on my grip, and for now that’s just going to be those CoC grippers as I outlined in some past workout logs. We’ll see how it pans out.
So as for the 4th cycle itself, I think what I’m most excited about is hitting some milestones. I’ll be using 135# for my pressing, which is cool to move into the 45# plates. Bench press is going to break 200#. Deadlift is nearing 300. And my squats are going to go into true PR territory finally. So it’s going to be a rather cool cycle. I need to ensure I get a lot of rest. 🙂 I’ve wondered about how these work-weights translate into a 1RM, just because one gets curious. I’m not going to sweat it too much. But I do think about it… I’m human.
Wife comments on how my body is looking, is improving. So hey… life’s good. 🙂
Stuff From Hsoi 
Still sound like we are along the same lines of thinking on the workouts, I’m just a couple month behind you. I’m still doing SS and just hit 100 OHP, 135 Bench, 170 Squat, and 225 Deads. It was very cool to have the two 45s on each side for the deads. You’ll have 3 on each side in no time the way you are going. I keep going back and forth on concentrating on losing weight or getting bigger. I think for the winter I’m just going to work on the weights and start running a bit in the spring. My sister wants me to run a 5k in the spring with her so that will take a little training. Keep up the good work!
That’s great that SS is still working for you. I think I could have stayed on it longer if I 1. was more patient, 2. got more rest. I think recovery is my biggest enemy… and frankly, Wendler’s program seems to lend itself better to that… at least for me. So, I’ll just keep plodding along. Have you given any thought to what you’ll do after SS is over? Texas Method?
That’s great to see your numbers going up like they are! Yeah, it is cool when you get to add (another) 45’s to the bar. As much as we need to minimize ego, we’re still human, and there’s no question that the ego feels good when you get to clank around 45’s.
I too have some flip flop about the weight: loss or gain. But I know in the end, I want to be stronger… that’s my primary goal so I really need to stick with it. The main thing that motivates me to want to shed some fat is clothing. 🙂 I know if I keep this up for the long haul, clothing will have to change. I already had to buy a new pair of jeans because my thighs are bigger and the old jeans just don’t fit any more; shirts are getting tighter too. But I know I can buy a little time by losing some “fat size” (I’m happy to gain muscle size). So sure, it’d be nice to lose the fat for numerous reasons, but being able to make my wardrobe last as long as possible is important (cause clothes are expensive!). But as I do lots of reading, (EliteFTS is good for that), as I start to see how to change up my nutrition and “metcon/GPP” well… I realize that I can kinda do both. That I can pack on the muscle smartly, and slowly over time the fat will go away. I’m still working on it, still tweaking, still dialing in my discipline, but it’s getting there.
Switching from rope jumping to sprints? That’s another part of it… the HIIT should boost things and help burn more fat, better my overall system. And it shouldn’t affect strength work.
I wish you well on your journey. Keep me posted. 🙂