Running on 3 hours of sleep. There’s a nagging pain in my left lower back (erector). My right knee is feeling wonky. And the prospect of 10+ sets of squats was not appealing to me.

But I did it anyways.

I feel a lot better. Opted to wear my STrong knee sleeves for a little more compression and support, plus I wore my belt. I haven’t worn a belt in many many moons, intentionally. But I felt today a little extra support would be good for me.

The thought of switching programs came into my head — but because of length. Today was about 2.5 hours in the gym, which is a LONG time. It really cuts into the day. That’s the one thing I don’t like about the templates is how the duration grows exponentially over the weeks.

That all said, things went pretty well. Squats (both kinds) felt really good. Skullcrushers, eventually I want to move away from them — to the forehead. I want to get back to having my head slightly off the bench and lowering the bar behind the head — more range of motion. Still, this is kinda nice for going a little heavier.

And you know, one reason that 5/3/1 keeps tugging back at me is pressing. Making it a priority movement, not just a minor accessory. I do miss heavier pressing. Ah well.

Anyways, all in all not too bad. I spent a bunch of time between sets with a foam roller working on my lower back. We’ll see how it goes.

2/fail. Strove to keep rests to 2 minutes, tho the squats got 3.

RP Physique, Mesocycle 1.1, week 3

• High Bar Squat
  • bar x 10
  • 135 x 5
  • 185 x 3
  • 225 x 10
  • 225 x 10
  • 225 x 8
  • 225 x 8
  • 225 x 8
• Front Squat
  • bar x 10
  • 155 x 10
  • 155 x 10
  • 155 x 10
  • 155 x 8
  • 155 x 8
• Seated Leg Curl
  • 125 x 10
  • 125 x 10
  • 125 x 8
  • 125 x 8
  • 125 x 7
• Stair Calves
  • 55 x 10
  • 55 x 10
  • 55 x 10
  • 55 x 10
  • 55 x 10
  • 55 x 10
  • 55 x 10
  • 55 x 10
• Skullcrushers
  • 50 x 10
  • 70 x 5
  • 95 x 8
  • 95 x 7
  • 95 x 7
  • 95 x 7
  • 95 x 7
• Military Press
  • 125 x 8
  • 125 x 7
  • 125 x 7
  • 125 x 7
  • 125 x 7