I know you can’t hit PRs every day – but it’s nice when you do. 🙂

This is 3+ week. I’m also doing Joker sets, and today worked me up to 485 — which is a PR. I hit 480 just last week, so 485 today was great!

Now the top set of 435, I only did 6. I knew I had more in the tank, and looking back I should have done at least 1 more (and I still would have had 1-2 in the tank). But I really wanted to hit the 485 today, and 6 was still a good showing. I’m working to position myself for a good work-up on 1+ week (in 2 weeks) to 495 — 5 wheels! That’ll be a big milestone.

The way 485 moved today? I know I’ll hit 495. It won’t be a cake-walk, but it will go up.

All in all, pretty happy with how things went today.

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Deadlift. 485×1, top set. PR. . 195×5, 240×5, 290×3, 340×5, 390×3, 435×6, 455×1, 485×1. . 3+ week. Joker sets. Band pullaparts between deadlift sets. RDLs. Skipped 1-leg reverse hypers (don’t need the fatigue). 10 min stationary bike. . I could (should) have gone for more on the 435 set, but I wanted to save for the 485. 455 was fine. 485 was a bit of a grind, but I knew if I got it off the floor I’d get it. 👌 . This positions me well for 1+ week in 2 weeks. Top Joker will be 495 – 5 wheels! I will do it. . . . #gym #deadlift #pr #ignitefitnez #liftlocal #wendler531 #531

A post shared by John Daub (@hsoisauce) on Oct 25, 2018 at 4:56am PDT

5/3/1 (7th cycle, 3+/5/1+, Jokers)

• Deadlift (superset with band pullaparts)
  • 195 x 5
  • 240 x 5
  • 290 x 3
  • 340 x 3
  • 390 x 3
  • 435 x 6
  • 455 x 1
  • 485 x 1
• RDLs
  • 305 x 8
  • 305 x 8
  • 305 x 8
• Stationary Bike
  • 10 min.

That feeling of panic when you can’t find your phone. 🙂

Accidentally left my phone at home, so today’s session was best guessing. Turns out I lifted heavier than I was supposed to: was to do 200, 230, 255, but I did 225, 240, 255. Not really a big deal, but when it’s coupled with the Jokers, I think it is. I have hit 275 before no problem, and I did 285 for a PR last week — but it’s generally been touch and go. Today, my descents were slower and I made a point to pause the first rep of each set. And so the same with the Jokers: a definitive pause on the chest.

and the 285 went up great.

I’m happy with that. 285 last week touch-and-go, 285 this week paused. AND with a harder workup this time too. I take that all as good signs of progress.

That said, apart from the superset back work, it’s all I did. I guess I slept on my left shoulder weirdly and it wasn’t feeling great today. I could feel it as I worked up and was bracing myself for my body to say “stop”. I opted instead of the 175x10x3 to just do 135 for AMRAP and see. Well, I got to 12 and opted to stop because my shoulder was saying “OK, that’s enough”. Not in a bad way, just in a way of “why bother doing any more if it’s only going to make things annoyed and not better”. So I did, and skipped the remaining back work too.

No biggie. Next week is a 5s week and “light”.

Oh, on the rows. I’m holding weight at 100# and just cranking 10 reps/set. I realize my reps haven’t been quality, so I’m wanting to stay here a bit and clean up the reps.

5/3/1 (7th cycle, 3+/5/1+PR, Joker)

• Bench Press
  • bar x 10
  • 115 x 5
  • 140 x 5
  • 170 x 3
  • 225 x 3
  • 240 x 3
  • 265 x 6
  • 275 x 1 (Joker, paused)
  • 285 x 1 (Joker, paused)
• Face Pulls (superset with bench warm-up sets)
  • 85 x 15
  • 85 x 15
  • 85 x 15
  • 85 x 15
• DB Rows (superset with bench work sets)
  • 100 x 10e
  • 100 x 10e
  • 100 x 10e

I’ve decided to just keep going.

I started back around the end of May, finding 1RMs. I did 3 cycles: 2-leader, 1-anchor, with deloads. Then another such run, which takes me to 6 cycles. It’s typical after 6-8 cycles to need a reset. Well, if I look at what I’m hitting on my 1+ weeks, I still have something in me and don’t NEED a reset. So, I’m just going to keep going. Technically since I just finished I should be taking a deload this week, but given how I feel and looking at my calendar, I’m just forging ahead.

The current plan is to stick with 3/5/1 style, Jokers, with “light” assistance work for another 3-weeks, take a 7th week deload, then another 3 weeks, deload, and so on. Just see how far I can take it, because I don’t expect many more cycles ahead. Oh, and squats will continue with Strong-15 style. I’ll follow the 3rd cycle setup and just increase 10# on my TM each time.

My goal is to milk this strength cycle as much as I can, and see what I can hit by the end of it. I already broke a 200# press, and I am pretty close to a 500 deadlift and 300 bench press. It’d be awesome if I could hit those before things tap out by the end of the year.

So with that, here I am.

TM went up, and while the work-up itself increased the top singles decreased. It’s just the wave nature of the cycle. But things did feel good and moved well. I still see myself slightly tilting right to favor my right leg, and that’s just going to take time to overcome. But things overall felt good. Biggest thing I find myself focusing on is getting the whole body tight, KEEPING it tight, and leading with the hips (not the knees/legs).

7th cycle; modeled after Strong-15

• Squat (superset with band pullaparts)
  • bar x 10
  • 135 x 8
  • 185 x 5
  • 210 x 4
  • 250 x 3
  • 275 x 2
  • 285 x 1
  • 305 x 1
  • 320 x 1
• Pause Squats
  • 240 x 5
• Leg Press (feet high and wide, going as deep as I can)
  • 90 x 10
  • 270 x 10
  • 360 x 10
  • 450 x 10
• Stationary Bike
  • 10 min

A good day.

Work up was to a top set of 190, where I got 4 reps – Rep PR. Then I went for a Joker set of a single at 200. Got that.

What was great about this to me is 2 weeks ago I did 190 for a Joker and it was a grinder, and then today I get it for 4. And 3 weeks ago I worked up to 200 on a very light work-up trying to conserve energy for that top set. But then here I’m putting all out and get 200 in a fatigued state. So that’s some nice progress.

Face pulls continue to be a little nicer for my elbow, and a nice change of pace. I also opted to try swapping out barbell rows for some medium-width neutral grip cable rows instead — and the neutral grip feels better on my elbow, and also felt a lot more in my lats! So I’ll probably stick with the cable rows for a bit.

All in all, a pretty good day.

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Press. 200×1 top set. Great session. . Bar x 10, 80×5, 100×5, 120×3, 150×5, 170×3, 190×4, 200×1, 135×10, 135×10, 135×8. . 1+ week. Superset face pulls during warmup. Medium width neutral grip cable rows during work sets. Finish with wide grip lat pulldowns, hex DB holds, 10 min stationary bike. . Too much fun. Rep PR with 190×4, then a Joker single of 200×1. Work up went well and it wasn’t too long ago 195 was my 1RM. I hit 200 3 weeks ago on a light work up, and 190 on a Joker 2 weeks ago was tough. So to hit 190 for 4 then 200 for 1 today in a fatigued state? Yeah, that’s progress. . Swapped neutral grip cable rows for BB rows; wanted to see if the grip change would be nicer on my elbow. So far so good. . . . #gym #press #militarypress #pr #ignitefitnez #liftlocal #wendler531 #531 #🤘 #itsgottabethehair

A post shared by John Daub (@hsoisauce) on Oct 19, 2018 at 4:44am PDT

This weekend I’ll determine exactly what I want to do going forward.

5/3/1 (6th cycle, anchor, 3+/5/1+, Joker Sets)

• Press
  • bar x 10
  • 80 x 5
  • 100 x 5
  • 120 x 3
  • 150 x 5
  • 170 x 3
  • 190 x 4 (rep PR)
  • 200 x 1 (Joker)
  • 135 x 10
  • 135 x 10
  • 135 x 8
• Face Pulls (superset with press warm-up sets)
  • 80 x 15
  • 80 x 15
  • 80 x 15
  • 80 x 15
• Medium-width neutral grip cable rows (superset with press work sets)
  • 135 x 10
  • 150 x 10
  • 165 x 10
  • 165 x 10
• Wide-grip Pulldowns
  • 90 x 10
  • 145 x 12
  • 145 x 9
  • 145 x 8

Top set of 480×1 – PR. Decent day.

Everything felt heavy, but of course it should. Top work set of 450×5 was OK. I didn’t feel that great about it, and I should have been able to get a 6th rep, but wasn’t in me. I could have ground it out, but why?

But then hitting 480 for a single was cool. That’s a true personal best, and doing it in a fatigued state is even cooler. I’m pretty sure I have 500 in me.

RDLs continue to slay me. I dig finally finding a groove for them: heavier, sets of 8.

I opted to drop the reverse hypers. While I would LIKE to do them, the amount of posterior fatigue after the deadlifts and RDLs is real. I’m getting better in my sleep issues, but still tried and burning out from day job work. No point in continuing to dig myself deeper, especially if without them I’m still making progress everywhere.

That said, I am thinking about “what next”. I’m hitting decent rep PRs, so I see no reason to stop. Technically this is cycle 6 and I should do a deload next week. Debating if I should do that (7th week protocol style) or just kick into another cycle. Point is, I don’t expect I have many cycles left before I MUST reset. So, just keep milking it kinda free-form (vs. the strict 2-leader 1-anchor style approach). I’ll try to sort it out this weekend. Basically, milk the strength training as much as I can, and let’s see if I can hit a 300# bench and 500# deadlift (I’ve already done a 200# press; and squat – just try to keep getting better) before the end of the year.

5/3/1 (6th cycle, anchor, 3+/5/1+, Jokers)

• Deadlift (superset with band pullaparts)
  • 190 x 5
  • 240 x 5
  • 285 x 3
  • 355 x 5
  • 405 x 3
  • 450 x 5 (rep PR)
  • 480 x 1 (lifetime PR)
• RDLs
  • 295 x 8
  • 295 x 8
  • 295 x 8
• Stationary Bike
  • 10 min

Decent day. Set a personal best of 285×1 bench press.

The top set of 265×5 was OK – didn’t like how the bar moved. My shoulders and arms just felt off and unhappy; hard to see in the video, but it’s there. So I figured I could take the Joker @ 285 and that went ok. I had been thinking about attempting 300, if things felt good — and they didn’t feel good enough to bother. Soon tho… 

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Bench Press. 285×1 top set. PR. . Bar x 10, 110×5, 140×5, 170×3, 210×5, 240×3, 265×5, 285×1. . Superset facepulls, DB rows, 3×10 benching, narrow-grip pulldowns. 10 minutes bike. . 1+ week. 265×5 was good number but a bad set; not grooved. Took one Joker set, 285×1 which sets an all time best. Had thought about attempting 300 today, but I don’t think it’d be there. . Still, overall happy with today. . . . #gym #benchpress #pr #ignitefitnez #liftlocal #wendler531 #531

A post shared by John Daub (@hsoisauce) on Oct 16, 2018 at 5:07am PDT

Things overall feel a little sluggish. Hard to tell if it’s me or just because it’s 6th cycle and weights are getting heavier and I’m getting more beat up. Been many weeks.

Everything else is what it is. Just assistance work.

5/3/1 (6th cycle, anchor, 3+/5/1+PR, Joker)

• Bench Press
  • bar x 10
  • 110 x 5
  • 140 x 5
  • 170 x 3
  • 210 x 5
  • 240 x 3
  • 265 x 5
  • 285 x 1 (Joker, PR)
  • 170 x 10
  • 170 x 10
  • 170 x 8
• Face Pulls (superset with bench warm-up sets)
  • 70 x 15
  • 70 x 15
  • 70 x 15
  • 70 x 15
• DB Rows (superset with bench work sets)
  • 100 x 10e
  • 100 x 10e
  • 100 x 10e
• Narrow-Grip Pulldowns
  • 90 x 10
  • 125 x 12
  • 125 x 12
  • 125 x 8
• Stationary Bike
  • 10 min

Not bad, not bad.

Worked up to a top set of 330×1. I’d say RPE… 8.5 or so. I reckon I could have either done another 1-2 reps, or a little more weight. But it’s up there.

Watching the video:

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Squat. 330×1 top set. . Bar x 10, 135×8, 175×5, 205×4, 240×3, 265×2, 315×1, 320×1, 330×1. . 265×3 pause squats. Leg presses. 10 minutes stationary bike. . See how I shift to the right? Compensation habit from my left knee issues. Been working on it, but obviously comes out in heavier work. . Still happy with the squat. Hitting depth. Better body tightness (push 360° into the belt). Take time to let things settle before moving. Confidence returning. . . . #gym #squat #pausesquats #🍑 #ignitefitnez #liftlocal #wendler531 #531 #strong15 #liftrunbang

A post shared by John Daub (@hsoisauce) on Oct 15, 2018 at 4:57am PDT

I saw a lean towards the right. It’s a long-standing thing due to compensating for my left knee issues. I struggle with it a bunch. Today, wasn’t on my mind — I was more thinking about being tight, especially in the upper body and torso (360º push into the belt); about (hip) DRIVING out of the hole; hitting depth; not rushing anything (take time to set up, unrack and take a moment to settle, step back and settle, just take your time – and strive to NOT lose tightness, tho since that will happen be sure to tighten back up after each phase), and just nailing the damn squat. I did alright.

Biggest thing is that I feel my confidence is returning. I opted to change my squat approach because I was having confidence issues, cutting depth, etc.. I’m not cutting depth; in fact, often going deeper. I think this is working out well for me because it’s not highly fatiguing (esp. to my knees), I get more warm-up/work-up, which translates into a little more opportunity to get technique dialed in before doing heavier sets, and then some heavier singles because that’s where I need the confidence return.

Yeah, things kinda messed with my head a bit because I’m hitting that tipping point, but nailing it well today was confirmation I need to just keep going. 🙂

Pause squats I think are a big help here: gotta be tight, gotta hit depth, gotta hold.

Leg presses I think are also helping since I’m taking a stance closer to my squat. Plus, I try to make every rep deeper than the prior one – get a stretch, going rather deep. I also think this is helping.

6th cycle, fixing my squat; modeled after Strong-15

• Squat (superset with band pullaparts)
  • bar x 10
  • 135 x 8
  • 175 x 5
  • 205 x 4
  • 240 x 3
  • 265 x 2
  • 315 x 1
  • 320 x 1
  • 330 x 1
• Pause Squats
  • 265 x 3
• Leg Press (feet high and wide)
  • 90 x 10
  • 270 x 15
  • 360 x 15
  • 450 x 8
• Stationary Bike
  • 10 min.

Today was fine for what it was to be.

Pressing went OK.

Accessory lifts need to change. I’m tired of the bent-over lat raises. Main reason? Since I had to cut back on what I did due to my elbow issues, I feel I need to change up exercises that get me more bang for my buck. It’s the reason compounds tend to be favored over isolation movements – isolation have their place, but all things considered right now? I think I’ll get more out of Face Pulls and generally serve the same purpose.

BB Rows too – they’re stressing my elbow a bit. Not in a bad way, just in a way that I don’t think is necessarily helping with healing. So, I’m thinking about changing to cable rows and playing around with different attachments to provide different grips (e.g. might use a neutral grip) and see how that affects things.

Anyways, stuff for later.

Right now, I just need to manage myself well so I can have a productive 1+ heavy week next week.

5/3/1 (6th cycle, anchor, 3+/5/1+, Joker Sets)

• Press
  • bar x 10
  • 80 x 5
  • 100 x 5
  • 120 x 3
  • 130 x 5
  • 150 x 5
  • 170 x 5
  • 135 x 10
  • 135 x 10
  • 135 x 6
• Face Pulls (superset with press warm-up sets)
  • 60 x 15
  • 60 x 15
  • 60 x 15
  • 60 x 15
• Barbell Rows (superset with press work sets)
  • 185 x 9
  • 185 x 9
  • 185 x 9
• Wide-grip Pulldowns
  • 105 x 10
  • 145 x 12
  • 145 x 12
  • 145 x 9
• Stationary Bike
  • 10 min