It just keeps going… but I have to admit, it’s playing with my mind.

It’s “3-week” and you generally expect that on the top set you might get 5-8 reps… but I continue to get 10 reps — my semi-self imposed threshold — and I shut it down. Every session it’s like this, which is of course pretty awesome. But it throws me. I mean, last week I did 240 for 10 and that felt like work… so a 15# jump today and I thought “well, I might only hit 8”, but I keep telling myself “1 rep at a time, and just keep reppping until it’s time to stop repping”. And I hit 10 reps pretty nicely.

But it is messing with me because this can’t keep up. I want it to keep up, and I keep thinking “ok, is this the time?”. I really need to just stop it and let be what will be.

I did a little video of my squats. Form is good, depth is good. I’m feeling happier with my setup and general approach, but I do feel at times I’m losing my upper-back tightness — something to work on.

Leg curls, instead of propping up on my elbows I’m laying totally flat and that is making it harder.

Hypers, I think about just contracting the glutes, as if I’m trying to contract them so it pushes my hips forward. Totally different feel to things.

Anyways, it’s good. Continuing to be happy with progress.

Oh… and I’m working on cutting back on my carbs because I’m getting bloated. 🙂 I spent all that time trying to de-fat myself, and while I accept a little fluffy, I need to keep it in check. I’ve even thought about doing 4-6 weeks of “cutting”, which shouldn’t affect my strength work but should helep me keep my fluff in check. TBD.

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Squats
  • bar x whatever
  • 115 x 5
  • 140 x 5
  • 170 x 3
  • 200 x 3
  • 225 x 3
  • 255 x 10
• Straight-leg Deadlift
  • 185 x 8
  • 215 x 8
  • 245 x 6
• Leg Curls
  • 30 x 20
  • 30 x 13
  • 30 x 10
• Hyperextensions (superset with crunches)
  • BW x 15
  • BW x 15
  • BW x11
• Crunches
  • BW x 20
  • BW x 13
  • BW x 11
• Standing Calf Raises
  • 50 x 20
  • 50 x 15
  • 50 x 12

Good day for the most part…. especially how I came home, ate breakfast, then napped for an hour. 🙂

That’s the biggest thing I’m having trouble with right now is getting enough rest. Things are getting better, I’m sleeping better, but it’s just going to take time to get back on track. Day by day.

Anyways, Pressing went well… tho I had a weird groove on the top set and almost lost the bar coming down from rep 1. It’s still with my setup. I thought I had things going in a good direction, but all day today things felt off. Press is the hardest lift for me to make progress on, but I’ll keep working at it.

Pull-ups are certainly happier on my joints than chin-ups. I’m still not going to 100% extension AND I’m letting my feet touch a little right at the bottom to relieve a little weight/stress. It’s not ideal pull-ups, but if it’s better for my joints and longevity, I’ll take the slight modification.

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Press
  • bar x whatever
  • 65 x 5 (warmup sets superset with band pull-aparts)
  • 80 x 5
  • 95 x 3
  • 100 x 5 (work sets superset with pull-ups)
  • 120 x 5
  • 135 x 10
• Close-Grip Bench Press
  • 110 x 10 (sets superset with pull-ups)
  • 130 x 10
  • 150 x 10
• V-Bar Pulldowns
  • 110 x 20
  • 110 x 18
  • 110 x 13
• Face Pulls
  • 100 x 20
  • 100 x 20
  • 100 x 14
• Lying Triceps Extensions (superset with curls)
  • 60 x 20
  • 60 x 15
  • 60 x 10
• Close-grip EZ-bar Curls
  • 55 x 20
  • 55 x 13
  • 55 x 10

I had to be somewhere early today, so it was a “jack shit” day. I actually wanted to front squat as well, but time ran out.

That’s all there is to say….

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Deadlift
  • 135 x 5
  • 170 x 5
  • 205 x 3
  • 220 x 5
  • 255 x 5
  • 285 x 10

Melatonin. What fun.

My sleep has been really bad the past some weeks. Life stress, primarily. I started taking melatonin a few days ago to see if it might help. First few days, nothing, but last night I actually slept pretty well — not sure if it’s the melatonin or other factors (had a good day), but for sure I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. But to the gym you go.

Pressing went fine. As has been the norm, everything continues to go up, so I have zero complaints.

Well, maybe a couple.

First, I am debating what to do about pull-ups. They are putting some stresses on my body that aren’t doing well, which really annoys me. I think the hard part is that it’s just right into lifting my bodyweight — no real way to ramp up and warm up to it, so those first sets really kill me. I’m thinking I may do something like let the first 3 sets be some medium-weight pulldowns, then 3 sets of full-body pull-ups. I dunno, just thinking about what to do.

Second, I did switch up triceps work. Instead of the overhead extensions, I am going to use the v-bar and do pushdowns. I want to see how well this still gives me work yet takes some stress off my elbows.

So in general, keeping with the program, just fine-tuning so it’s all gain and no (bad) pain. 🙂

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Bench Press
  • bar x whatever
  • 95 x 5 (warmup sets superset with band pull-aparts)
  • 120 x 5
  • 145 x 3
  • 155 x 5 (work sets superset with neutral-grip pull-ups)
  • 180 x 5
  • 205 x 10
• Incline Press
  • 110 x 10 (sets superset with neutral-grip pull-ups)
  • 130 x 10
  • 150 x 10
• Cable Rows
  • 100 x 20
  • 100 x 20
  • 100 x 18
• Shrugs
  • 205 x 20
  • 205 x 20
  • 205 x 15
• V-bar pressdowns (superset with curls)
  • 45 x 20
  • 45 x 20
  • 45 x 12
• Hammer Curls (alternate, across body)
  • 25e x 20
  • 25e x 14
  • 25e x 10

And the next cycle starts off pretty well.

Today was pretty cool. A little stiff to start out. I had a lot of weird chest pain over the weekend — it’s from posture problems (been slouching too much). Spent a bunch of the weekend stretching, foam rolling, and other things to help out. So I was a little stiff this morning but everything settled in really well by the time the work sets came up. And again, don’t think of it as 1 set of reps, but rather multiple sets of 1 rep. When I do that it makes such a positive difference — just keep going until you can’t, and every rep is focused instead of blending into the next.

Again, hit the 10-rep threshold and shut it down. Progress is good. Frankly, I find myself getting a little nervous about every session. I’ve been nailing the threshold almost every session, almost every everything, and I know it can’t last forever to be like this. I’m just waiting for it to end, and it plays with my head a bit. Gotta let it go and just let be what will be. I’m not getting weaker, I’m just settling in.

But even better was feeling really dialed in on the squats. Things just felt in the right groove and moved well. Technique is improving, which is always good.

I did really do a number on my lower back, glutes, and hams today. The straight-legs I did with less rest between sets. On leg curls, instead of propping up on my elbows I laid my chest flat on the bench — so no chance of hip extension or anything. It really brought up the stress on things back there, tho in a good way.

All in all, a good day. Happy to be back to the cycle, tho the deload was certainly good for me.

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Squats
  • bar x whatever
  • 115 x 5
  • 140 x 5
  • 170 x 3
  • 185 x 5
  • 215 x 5
  • 240 x 10
• Straight-leg Deadlift
  • 155 x 10
  • 185 x 10
  • 215 x 10
• Leg Curls
  • 30 x 20
  • 30 x 12
  • 30 x 10
• Hyperextensions (superset with crunches)
  • BW x 12
  • BW x 12
  • BW x 12
• Crunches
  • BW x 20
  • bw x 13
  • BW x 10
• Standing Calf Raises
  • 50 x 17
  • 50 x 15
  • 50 x 12

Huzzah! Deload is over. 😉

I’m happy for it, as it really was a good break and recovery time. But one thing that comes out of it? I really am not sure I can keep doing pull-ups. The amount of stress it seems to be putting on my shoulders and elbows is a lot. Frankly, that bums me out as it’s been so awesome to not suck (as much) at pull-ups any more. I’m going to keep going for a bit as I already have some changes planned to try to reduce some of the joint stress, so I want to see how those go before I make a full switch. But it’s on my mind.

anyways, that’s that.

Feeling energized and ready to get back into it.

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Press
  • bar x whatever
  • 60 x 5 (warmup sets superset with band pull-aparts)
  • 60 x 5
  • 75 x 5
  • 75 x 5 (work sets superset with pull-ups)
  • 90 x 5
  • 90 x 5
• Close-Grip Bench Press
  • 85 x 5 (sets superset with pull-ups)
  • 105 x 5
  • 125 x 5
• V-Bar Pulldowns
  • 110 x 12
  • 110 x 12
• Face Pulls
  • 100 x 12
  • 100 x 12
• Lying Triceps Extensions
  • 60 x 12
  • 60 x 12
• Close-grip EZ-bar Curls
  • 55 x 12
  • 55 x 12

Again, it’s deload week.

And you know what? I’m really glad I took it. My joints and everything are feeling really good. I can only wonder how I’d feel if I did go the additional 3 weeks.

So, huzzah.

Nothing else much to report. It’s just a deload day.

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Deadlift
  • 135 x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 165 x 5
  • 165 x 5
  • 195 x 5
  • 195 x 5
• Front Squat
  • 95 x 5
  • 115 x 5
  • 140 x 5
• Elevated Glute Bridges
  • BW x 12
  • BW x 12
• Crunches
  • BW x 12
  • BW x 12
• Seated Calf Raises
  • 35 x 12
  • 35 x 12

Deloading. Not much exciting to say. 🙂

But a few comments:

Accidentally tucked my feet more than usual while benching. That’s been a problem for me in the past because it really caused my butt to lift, but not so today. I think because I’m finding the direction of my drive is different — more up into my head, instead of up off the bench. That said, I’m not sure the tuck gets me as much. Still, was interesting to play with and I’ll probably continue to play with this a bit.

I am wondering if I may need to stop pull-ups for a bit. I think above all things they are what’s making my elbows hate life. Ugh. But that said, today I found that if I pulled my elbows in — as if I was trying to touch them together while pulling myself up — that seemed to make my joints not feel as stressed. I need to explore that a bit more. It’s not a huge change, not actually trying to touch them, just not letting them flare out, y’know?

To that, I also think I may ditch the overhead extensions for the same reason. Stupid elbows.

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Bench Press
  • bar x whatever
  • 95 x 5 (warmup sets superset with band pull-aparts)
  • 95 x 5
  • 115 x 5
  • 115 x 5 (work sets superset with neutral-grip pull-ups)
  • 140 x 5
  • 140 x 5
• Incline Press
  • 85 x 5 (sets superset with neutral-grip pull-ups)
  • 105 x 5
  • 125 x 5
• Cable Rows
  • 100 x 12
  • 100 x 12
• Shrugs
  • 205 x 12
  • 205 x 12
• Overhead Triceps Extensions (superset with curls)
  • 60 x 12
  • 60 x 12
• Hammer Curls (alternate, across body)
  • 25e x 12
  • 25e x 12

Sometimes you just have to listen to your body.

I was all set to start another cycle, to go 9 weeks before deloading. But when I woke up this morning I just wasn’t feeling it. I stepped back, looked at everything, and in the end opted to take this week as a deload. I’m getting all excited by the momentum, about being back on track, all those things, and I’m just excited to keep going. Well, if I want to keep going for the long run, I need to pace myself. There have also been other things going on in my life that are affecting my recovery, so it’s best for me to deload now. I’ll hate it, but if the whole week I’m just anxious to get back at things, that’s a good sign. 🙂

So, did the deload per protocol, cut assistance work “in half”, and just got some work in. Nothing big, but honestly I felt really good afterwards — like it was just what the doctor ordered. So, probably a smart thing for me to just run 6-week cycles and take the deload like it or not.

Weight has been holding steady at 230. That will be a bit of a challenge this week, but I just need to keep carb intake under control and I should be OK.

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Squats
  • bar x whatever
  • 110 x 5
  • 110 x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 165 x 5
  • 165 x 5
• Straight-leg Deadlift
  • 135 x 5
  • 150 x 5
  • 175 x 5
• Leg Curls
  • 30 x 12
  • 30 x 12
• Hyperextensions
  • BW x 10
  • BW x 10
• Crunches
  • BW x 10
  • BW x 10
• Standing Calf Raises
  • 50 x 10
  • 50 x 10

It just keeps going. Huzzah.

Pressing doesn’t hit that 10-rep threshold because it was THE one thing that had a true 1RM figured out. But I’m still hitting more weight, more reps, everything going up and progressing. So hey… great!

As well, my setup is getting better. One thing I did today was letting out just a tiny bit of air after I unracked the bar. That was ok and helped, but it was also bad because I did loose a little. Next time I’m going to try the opposite: start with maybe 90-95% air, then unrack, then give a slight inhale. It may be a little tougher to do right, but we’ll see. Point is, I’m finally getting a better setup with Press. I still have work to do on it, but it’s getting there.

A few other changes.

I’ve been feeling some elbow discomfort, so chins are just a problem. I don’t want to stop chinning, so in between sets I would just examine different grips and how it felt against my joints. In the end? Standard pronated-grip pull-ups. I also reduced my reps today, just by a couple per set, so I got some work but didn’t beat myself up too much.

Finally, extensions went back to a prior form. I used to lower the bar behind my head. Then I changed to lower to my forehead. But I’m going to go back to behind the head. To the forehead seems to cause me more elbow issues than behind the head. As well, to the forehead doesn’t give me as much range of motion — nor a consistent range of motion — because I’m trying to not bash in my forehead. When I go behind my head, the range is always the same because there’s a better index point for the bottom of the movement. It also didn’t cause me any elbow issues that I can remember.

So with that…..

To press forward another 3 weeks or deload?

I’m going to press forward, but I suspect 9 weeks will then require a deload before I go again (but I’ll make that call in 3 weeks).

I’m going to make only minor adjustments to the program. Everything’s generally working, so why change? My body hasn’t adapted, things aren’t slowing down, progress continues at a crazy rate, so don’t change anything. The minor changes I will make are like the above: changing pull-ups instead of chin-ups, changing my triceps work slightly, all to avoid aggravating my elbows. But that’s all the changing.

So, onwards!

5/3/1 Simplest Strength Template

• Press
  • bar x whatever
  • 60 x 5 (warmup sets superset with band pull-aparts)
  • 75 x 5
  • 90 x 3
  • 115 x 5 (work sets superset with pull-ups)
  • 130 x 3
  • 145 x 8 (8RM PR)
• Close-Grip Bench Press
  • 135 x 5 (sets superset with pull-ups)
  • 160 x 5
  • 180 x 5
• V-Bar Pulldowns
  • 110 x 20
  • 110 x 16
  • 110 x 12
• Face Pulls
  • 100 x 20
  • 100 x 18
  • 100 x 14
• Lying Triceps Extensions (superset with curls)
  • 60 x 20
  • 60 x 15
  • 60 x 12
• Close-grip EZ-bar Curls
  • 55 x 20
  • 60 x 12 (whoops! forgot to strip off the 2.5s!)
  • 55 x 12