Here ends another cycle.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 4

• Deload – Press (working max: 140#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 2x5x55
  • 2x5x70
  • 2x5x85
• Asst. #1 – Chin-ups, band-assisted
  • 4 x 7/7/4/3 x BW
• Pump superset
  • Upright rows
  • Triceps Pressdown
  • Scott Curls
  • 3 sets, 8-15 reps, enough weight to make it hard; on 3rd set immediately drop weight and keep going to failure

Nothing really to say. Just go in and do things. I did work on keeping a tight deathgrip while pressing — that helps everything like you wouldn’t believe. I just have to remember to do it — and keep doing it while the set progresses.

On chins, there’s no question that’s bugging my shoulders. I’m starting to wonder if I want to stay with chins with a narrow grip (e.g. thumbs almost touching) or just go to pull-ups (pronated grip) with a slightly wider grip. I could also do a neutral grip, but then the only neutral handles at the gym are of a single fixed width which may or may not help me. I played with these grips on the last 2 sets, but just didn’t have enough reps to see if it made a difference. I’ll keep playing with it.

Onwards to the next cycle!

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 4

• Deload – Deadlift (working max: 345#)
  • 2x5x140
  • 2x5x185
  • 2x5x225
• Asst. #1 – Pullthroughs
  • 3 x 15 x 130
• Foam Rolling

Keep deload deload. I did some light deadlifts. I added the Fat Gripz at first, but boy… that was taxing! After the 2nd set at 185 I removed them — didn’t want to risk dropping the bar. I did make sure to grip like hell and hold at the top, to give my grip a little extra workout here. Kept rest periods to about a minute between sets. And just did some pullthroughs to round things off. I did follow with a bunch of foam rolling and static stretching of my hamstrings — I really lost a lot of flexibility here, and that’s bad.

But, just keep things light and basic.

I also had some further thoughts about my training. So much of the reading I’ve been is very specific to improving at powerlifting. There’s wisdom to be learned from that training, but it’s not what I’m after. I’m after general strength improvement. I have “Starting Strength” in my reading room and was flipping through the past few days… happened to re-read some stuff about deadlift mechanics, used that today (e.g. “break at the knees first”), but Rip is kinda about general strength improvements, not really specific to any one sport or goal other than just getting stronger because if you’re stronger, you can just a lot more of just about anything. That’s been my general approach, but that clarity faded a bit because I’ve been reading so many other things. So re-reading Rip’s stuff helped bring that back into focus and yes… just onwards to getting stronger.

First deload week in a while.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 4

• Deload – Squat (working max: 280#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 2x5x115
  • 2x5x140
  • 2x5x170
• Asst. #1 – Good Mornings
  • 3 x 12 x 95

• Deload – Bench Press (working max: 220#)
  • 3x5x45 (warmup)
  • 2x5x95
  • 2x5x110
  • 2x5x135
• Asst. #2 – Chin-ups, band assist
  • 3 x 7/5/4 x BW
• Pump superset
  • Flat Bench DB Flies
  • JM Press
  • Hammer Cheat Curls, with Fat Gripz
  • 3 sets, 8-15 reps, enough weight to make it hard; on 3rd set immediately drop weight and keep going to failure

To make the cycle weeks even on 3x a week, deload week couples up 1 day. I just opted to compress the first two together, so that’s squat and bench. I just winged it… did the warm-up weights for 2 sets each, picked a relevant assistance exercise and worked but didn’t kill myself, and finished off with a little extra upper body work. No stripped sets, just a little work. It’s deload.

I did work on my form in everything I did. Bench felt a little better, tho it feels stranger with the straighter wrist. My right shoulder continues to be weird to me, and I swear that it’s hanging exercises that are killing me… like chins, the hanging leg raises, and so on. But I also think improving my bench form will help, because today, my shoulder felt the best it has while benching… lower on the stomach, greater elbow tuck. So we’ll see how it goes.

I also worked with my foot positioning. While having my felt out and flat is certainly more comfortable and natural, I found it a lot harder to keep tight throughout the set. Having my feet tucked way back in towards my head was awkward as hell, but I was able to maintain a much tighter form throughout. So, I think I’m going to just keep working with the tuck and get used to it.

Oh, and the Fat Gripz? Man, that made the hammer curls harder. But I want that forearm work, that grip work. Not only helps my deadlift and such, but carryover into my pistol shooting too. 🙂

If you don’t want to read about my training thoughts, leave now. 🙂

Cool timing with this article about “5/3/1 and 40“. Being on the older side of life, I can relate to what’s in there. A few things stood out to me.

First, it’s amazing how much 5/3/1 just works and works so well. Sure I read about other programs and try to see what I can learn from them. All this Dave Tate reading is Westside-based, but unless I opt to get truly serious about powerlifting, it’s not right for me. Bands? Chains? Well, maybe someday but I’m far from needing those. 5/3/1 is geared towards strength, but can easily be adapted to whatever you are trying to achieve — as long as it’s about being awesome.

Second, I too am finding 3x week works best. I don’t think my older body could handle 4x week, and 2x was just not working. While it’s only been this past cycle that I’ve been back to 3x, I can feel the difference and it’s certainly more my groove. And it’s not just the actual lifts, but also a very nice mental and emotional charge from doing something I like a little more often, and having a little more of it to balance out my life.

Third, Boring But Big? I’m all over it. The other day at the gym, some of the morning crew was talking about exercises and switching up often because doing the same thing all the time is boring and who wants to do that? Well… I do. Squat, bench press, deadlift, press. And while I do change up the assistance, that’s starting to settle down now as I’m learning more about myself, about what’s weak, and well… I think that’s the big part is really starting to understand weak points and focusing on them, instead of thinking I have something to go on and just stabbing in the dark hoping to hit something.

Anyways, a really cool article that resonated.

As for how things are going.

I’m happy to be back on a road of forward progress. Yes, I reset some lifts, but I think coming from where I was I had no choice. I put myself on a road to loss, and ultimately didn’t lose what I wanted to. But I learned a lot, and am still toying with diet to find what works for me. I’ll get there.

This will be my first cycle with a deload in a while. I’m kinda looking forward to it, but also excited to get back to the forward program.

My thinking is that I reset both my Press and Bench Press, and the reps I hit on the 5/3/1 last set are good enough, I am fine with going up 5# on those lifts. Plus, I am curious how all the extra high-rep shoulder and arm work at the end of the workout is paying off. Interestingly, I can tell it’s putting some size on my arms, which is nice. I hope it’s going to equate to some strength gains tho, especially in my triceps. We’ll just have to stay the course and see what happens.

Deadlift is going to go up 10#.

Squat is the hard one to call. I don’t really want to reset, nor do I want to keep static again. My thinking was to either stay at the same weights and go for a rep max, or only go up 5# and see what happened. Again, I’m curious if my assistance work is helping any here. Hrm. I just spent some time toggling the numbers in my spreadsheet. A lot of weights stay the same due to calculations and rounding, but of course some go up. I think I’ll go up 5# and see how it goes. I’ve got some motivation, and if in the end it kicks my ass then I take a step back so I can later take two steps forward.

Overall tho, the routine I’ve settled into this cycle I like and will keep with it. If I’m smart (and I’m not always smart) I won’t fiddle with the program much this cycle. The only thing I might experiment with are the wrist wraps. Don’t ignore my deadlift and squat form, just try to hold it steady for now. I need to make progress in bench and press. The biggest thing with press is to just hold my whole body tight. With bench, lots of things.

Here’s some articles I need to read again:

• 12 steps to a bigger bench press (Dave Tate)
• Dave Tate’s Six-Week bench press cure
• Virtual Bench Press seminar (Jim Wendler)

Those articles and videos were recently posted, and the timing is good.

Anyways, I’m happy where things are going. Actually if there’s anything I’m unhappy about it’s that I’m needing a new wardrobe. I used to wear XL shirts just fine. Now I have to get XXL. 🙂  Oh man… I just thought about the last suit I bought a couple of years ago. I don’t wear suits all that often, but I doubt it’s going to fit. Oh well. It’s good to be big and strong. Like Mark Rippetoe says, “Strong people are hard to kill, and more useful in general.”  I’ve still got a long ways to go, but maybe, just maybe, I’m finally on the road. I’m sure a year from now I’ll be saying that same thing again…. funny how the more we learn, we realize how little we know.

Today may have been a long crazy work day, but I wasn’t going to miss my gym time.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 3

• 5/3/1 – Press (working max: 140#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x55
  • 1x5x70
  • 1x3x85
  • 1x5x105 (work)
  • 1x3x120
  • 1x7x135
• Asst. #1 – Press
  • 5 x 8/8/8/10/12 x 115/95/75/65/55
• Asst. #2 – Chin-ups – band assisted
  • 5 x 5 x BW
• Pump superset
  • Upright rows
  • Triceps Pressdown
  • Scott Curls
  • 3 sets, 8-15 reps, enough weight to make it hard; on 3rd set immediately drop weight and keep going to failure

As you recall, I reset my Press right in the middle of the cycle. I saw I wasn’t getting anywhere and risked this being a horrible week, so might as well fall back and regroup. Doing the math, yeah… it’s good I did. I think it’s better I got 7 with 135 than maybe 1 with the 160 I was scheduled for. But even still, looking back over things, I should have been able to get more reps.

I am watching my form and big problem is I’m not tight. I lose my full-body tightness as I go. But I did discover I do better to walk up to the bar, grab it squeezing tight, and immediately get under the back, unrack it, and start pressing. That is, the more time I take between grabbing the bar and starting reps, the harder things become in so many ways.

Well, next week is deload and so I hope to use it as a time to work on my form.

I did try using the wrist wraps here and it was just awkward. I’ll keep trying tho. May just need to wrap them differently.

I am happy I squeezed out 5×5 on the chin-ups. Yeah, band assist, but it seems to do a lot more for me than other methods. I’ll just keep working at it.

On my curls, I got a set of Fat Gripz and am trying them out. They were a little awkward on the preacher bench, but I’ll keep at ’em to see what they offer me.

Well, that wound up better than I expected.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 3

• 5/3/1 – Deadlift (working max: 345#)
  • 1x5x140 (warmup)
  • 1x5x175
  • 1x3x210
  • 1x5x260 (work)
  • 1x3x295
  • 1x7x330 (PR tie)
• Asst. #1 – Good Mornings
  • 3 x 12 x 95
• Asst. #2 – Pull Throughs
  • 3 x 15 x 100
• Asst. #3 – Pulldown Abs (kneeling)
  • 3 x 15 x 120
• Foam Rolling

During the workout, I didn’t feel it. I mean, it wasn’t good, wasn’t bad… it just was. My head was kinda there, but I had introduced a new variable — wrist wraps (more below) and so it caused me to think about other things. But I did my best to just clear my head, not worry about the future nor the past… just be there, in the now, in the moment. That’s hard for me, but I’m working on it.

I had no idea how many reps to try to hit. I just said there’s 330# on the bar, just keep lifting until the body says stop. 7 reps… that works. When I got home I looked to see how that compared:

* last week I got 315 for 7… same reps, 15# more. OK then.
* last cycle, 320# for 5. More reps, more weight. OK then.
* 2 cycles ago I did the most weight I’ve ever deadlifted: 340# for 4 reps. Doing some 1RM calculations (which mean little, but provide an interesting statistic), the 7×330 equates to 406#, and the 4×340 to 385#. So in theory, more work done.

Gee… stronger. I dig it. To what can I attribute? I don’t know for sure. Better mental attitude? The posterior chain assistance work? better technique? better diet (eat to get strong, but not fat)? just powering the fuck through it? I don’t know for sure, but hey… great. 🙂

That means next cycle for sure I’ll be going up 10# and should set an all-time PR for myself because I should be able to blow past 4 reps of 340.

In other news….

I am digging the assistance work. It feels like it’s giving my back-end the extra work… certainly I’m feeling it in my glutes and hams afterwards. I do think I can go a little heavier on those assistance exercises on deadlift days and a little lighter on squat days, just to get the same “level of work” on them.

I also tried wrist wraps. Bought a pair of EliteFTS Normal Wrist Wraps 60cm (and of course NOW they’re on sale… *sigh*) and wanted to try them out. My main reason for them is for pressing, but they can be worn while deadlifting to help with grip. Try it… make a fist, wrap the hell out of the wrists, and then your grip just won’t open up that far. That can help with your grip.

Well… yeah, but no. While I was lifting, I certainly felt the mechanical advantage, but I didn’t feel all that worked. I think this would be useful for me when going at it with maximal weights, so use it during my 5/3/1 week work sets. But otherwise I don’t think I’ll use them for deadlifting because I’d rather be sure I’m gripping the hell out of the bar and getting my forearms stronger. If I can’t hold onto the bar in training, then I need to get my grip stronger. But certainly, when going at the heaviest weights, contests, etc… yeah, use the straps to get that extra edge.

But, I’m new to them. I’ll experiment still and see how it goes. I just know that while the advantage is good, I’d rather get stronger.

I didn’t get what I wanted, but I guess I got what I needed.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 3

• 5/3/1 – Bench Press (working max: 220# — NB: dropped from 240#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x95
  • 1x5x110
  • 1x3x135
  • 1x5x165 (work)
  • 1x3x190
  • 1x6x210
• Asst. #1A – Bench Press
  • 1 x 6 x 185
  • 1 x 10 x 155
  • 1 x 5 x 155
  • 1 x 8 x 135
  • 1 x 9 x 120
• Asst. #1B – Chin-ups, band-assist, superset
  • 5x 5/5/5/4/4 x BW
• Pump superset
  • Flat Bench DB Flies
  • JM Press
  • Hammer Cheat Curls
  • 3 sets, 8-15 reps, enough weight to make it hard; on 3rd set immediately drop weight and keep going to failure
• Foam Rolling

I didn’t do what I wanted, but I reckon I got what I needed.

I reset my working max from 240# to 220#. Unusual to reset in the middle of a cycle, but why waste time? I’m trying to fix my bench press form, and dropping back in weight helps with that. And no question, form is impacted.

I videoed myself some and could see some things. First, I already knew my wrists weren’t fully straight. They weren’t totally flat back, but they could be straighter so I’m working on that (and I have a set of wrist wraps coming, which will likely help here). I also know to tuck my elbows and I do that, but I’m not doing it enough — the video doesn’t lie. So with straighter wrists and more tuck, that brought the bar lower (closer to my feet), which changed the bar path and leverages. It actually felt better on my shoulder when I did things right, but it also really screwed with my head and I just wasn’t where I should have been mentally — focused on too many things instead of being there in the moment. But it’s all good, because I got a lot of feedback and it was sorely evident my triceps suck and are weak. So, I shall continue on my program, with the extra arm work at the end… using lighter weights but ensuring full range and a solid lockout on any pressing movement. We’ll see where I end up after a few months.

You know… I haven’t had a deload week in ages, because of the former 2x week program. So having a deload next week feels strange, but I’m going to use it as opportunity to focus on form in both bench press and press.

Oh, and I need to remind myself to stop supersetting with chins. Chins are great, but are just putting too much stress on my shoulders *sigh*. It’s something I can manage, but when I switch gears from pressing to chinning, it’s just too much. *sigh* Just keep ’em straight.

It’s not a PR, but it’s a big improvement vs. last cycle.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 3

• 5/3/1 – Squat (working max: 280#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x115
  • 1x5x140
  • 1x3x170
  • 1x5x215 (work)
  • 1x3x240
  • 1x3x270
• Asst. #1 – Squat
  • 1 x 5 x 225
  • 1 x 9 x 185
  • 1 x 7 x 185
  • 1 x 10 x 135
  • 1 x 10 x 135
• Asst. #2A – Pulldown Abs
  • 3 x 15 x 120
• Asst. #2B – Pullthroughs
  • 3 x 15 x 100
• Foam Rolling

Last cycle I nearly bombed out getting 270 for even 1 rep. I kept my squat weights the same for this cycle, and every squat workout had an increase in reps. So getting a triple today was awesome. In fact, the triple felt really damn good. I’m finding that I need the bar a little lower on my shoulders… it’s crept up, but a lower position does work my leverages better and I can hold my torso better throughout the movement. So I’m stoked.

I’m trying to decide what to do for next cycle tho, given I only got 3 reps. Should I keep the weights the same and continue for rep PR’s? Or should I increase weight? And if I do, do I go up 10# or maybe only just 5? I’m kinda leaning towards a 5# increase with reps about the same (e.g. if I get at least a triple with 275# on 5/3/1 week next cycle, I’ll be cool with that).

The squat assistance… deep deep deep is the order of the day. Really make the glutes and hams do the work. And to that end, the pullthroughs? Hell… 3x15x100 was enough. That really burned the hell out of my glutes and hams. So yeah, I dig that exercise, tho I feel like a perverted goober doing it. 🙂 It’s a nice way to push the posterior a little more, y’know? We’ll see after a few cycles how much it’s helped.

Felt really damn good about this workout…. probably felt better than the guy that got arrested just outside the gym. While I was warming up for squats, I see red and blue flashing lights — 4 Austin Police cars — four — pulling over a car just in front of the gym. Guns drawn. Dude winds up in handcuffs. Nothing too major, but I did wonder if I needed to duck and cover. No idea what it was all about…. but I had squats to do.