Today would start the “deload” week of my cycle, but I’m going to take an alternate deload — I’m doing nothing this week.

Not just with Christmas on the way and things to do, but my body is feeling pretty beat up. Friday’s session is still ringing on me… I have had a hard time all weekend getting around on my right knee, my left ankle is unhappy, and my legs are still pretty sore. Just a whole lot of “not good”. So why beat up my body more? Just take the ultimate deload and take the week off and rest.

Looking back on cycle 4, I’m generally pleased with my progress. I hit significant milestones in terms of my press (going to 45# plates), my bench press (broke 200# as a work weight), breaking through my squat barrier, and my deadlift continues to be strong and progress towards 300#. I’m pleased with how things are going.

I’m not pleased with myself regarding how I keep tinkering with diet. I read Wendler’s 2nd edition of his 5/3/1 book and started on his “lean but slow” gains diet approach and it’s not working for me… I already see it’s too much caloric intake and my body is reacting as such. I’m going to go back to what I was doing as it, along with the sprints, was helping. I’m also seriously considering that after this upcoming 5th cycle I may take an even more radical shift towards pure weight loss, even at the expense of the strength work I’ve done so far. We shall see. I was enjoying the slow shedding, where I could obviously see muscle mass gains but weight was staying static so I reckon that meant fat loss.

As for what up with the next cycle… I’m changing it to start addressing what I’m seeing as issues. So this moves away from “Boring But Big” assistance work and more towards “Triumvirate” thinking. Some days, however, won’t have just 3 exercises. I’m not 100% sure where things will lie, the cycle will have some new things so I have to find where they will sit and if they actually will do what I’m wanting, and that will just take time to see and learn. If nothing else, it’ll keep things interesting. No real need to discuss all that here; each day will get discussed during week 1. But otherwise, progression remains: bumping 5# on press and bench press, bumping 10# on deadlift and squat. I am so tempted to bump 15# on the deadlift so I can break 300# sooner, but that’s not the wise way to do things.

Still, so far so good. This is an enjoyable way to get myself out of the office, and certainly been one of the better weightlifting experiences of my life so far. Better than the old “bodybuilder-style” lifting I always did in years past.

Finally, breaking through the squat barrier.

“Week 3”

• 5/3/1 – Squat (working max: 240#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x95
  • 1x5x120
  • 1x3x145
  • 1x5x180 (work)
  • 1x3x205
  • 1x6x230 (PR)
• Asst. #1 – Squat
  • 5 x 10 x 100
• Asst. #2 – Leg Curl
  • 5 x 10 x 65
• GPP – Sprints
  • Tabata style (20 sec. sprint, 10 sec. walk)
  • 2 “laps” walking (warmup)
  • 5 “reps” (8 reps is one Tabata set)
  • 2 “laps” walking (cooldown)
• DeFranco Agile 8

Huzzah. 6 with 230#. That helps me break through my squat barrier. I’ve had so many setbacks around the 230 mark: got up there, was doing really sloppy form on the PPNP program, reset to improve my from but didn’t get back up to it before switching to Wendler 5/3/1 which of course takes a longer time to get up there. Then I got there last cycle but opted to repeat it due to starting sprinting. And so finally I get to break through. I told myself last night that I have to get at least 6 since before I got 5. I could have gotten 7 but I felt unstable.

See, that problem with all the “light-headedness”? I wonder… could that have been the Jack3d? Maybe. I finished the tub a few workouts ago and have no desire to go back on it (I think it’s a waste). I wonder if it’s involved because since I’ve been off it, no issues. Or it could be improving how I deal with breathing and breath-holding. I dunno. Hard to say, but I didn’t really have that problem today. But I did feel kinda wobbly for some reason. Right knee didn’t feel all that hot today, felt worse after sprinting (the impact), and then to make things worse, as I was getting up off the floor after repacking my gym back before leaving, I wobbled and my left ankle feels miserable now. *sigh*

Oh well.

Everything else was about normal. Nothing exciting to report, just did it all.

Looking back on the week, I’m really happy. Set PR’s and significant ones at that. I broke the 45# plate barrier with pressing, I broke the 200# barrier with bench pressing, my deadlifts continue to be strong and get close to the 300# mark. And now my squat feels good enough to continue along and add another 10#. A good week of PR’s.

I’m thinking about how to evolve my training for the next cycle. Nothing firm yet, but it’s almost solidified. It’ll of course stay generally on the 5/3/1 method, but assistance looks to move away from “Boring But Big” and is evolving more into the “Triumvirate” as I’m starting to think more about addressing weak points. I also think I may be moving beyond just 3 exercises, tho not a lot of additional work. We’ll see how it goes.

“200 pounds is always 200 pounds” – Henry Rollins

Indeed it is.

“Week 3”

• 5/3/1 – Bench Press (working max: 210#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x85
  • 1x5x105
  • 1x3x130
  • 1x5x160 (work)
  • 1x3x180
  • 1x6x200 (PR)
• Asst. #1 – Bench Press
  • 5 x 10 x 120
• Asst. #2 – DB Rows
  • 5 x 10 x 50
• DeFranco Agile 8

Today was good and bad.

The good was setting a PR of 1x6x200. Broke the 200# barrier on bench press. First in my life. Kinda cool. Yeah, 300 is in my sights, but first, 205. And 6 reps, I can take that.

I’ve been noticing, when I bench the large weights, I lose all lower body stability. Every other time I work hard to keep my feet planted and my legs tight. But I pick up that 200 and everything went south. I don’t know why. I catch myself and work to plant it, but it’s never as solid and tight as it should be. Something to work on.

But after that point, the workout went downhill. I just felt gassed. The 50’s on the rows felt so heavy today for some reason. I didn’t sprint, originally due to the fact it’s raining and very slippery out (almost wiped out on the sidewalk leaving the gym), but kinda glad to skip it if I’m so pooped… why further the exhaustion. On the Agile 8 I just wasn’t feeling it. I did get only 5 hours of sleep last night… kinda for a stupid reason. Went to bed late due to a need to talk with Wife about some stuff, but then woke up around 3 AM for a bathroom break and I didn’t let myself go back to bed because I knew if I did I wouldn’t get up until 5:30 or so and that means I wouldn’t be in the gym until 7 and that’s too late. I wanted to get in early today. So, likely a mistake on my part to not have rested up well last night.

I’m happy for the PR, but unhappy about the rest of the workout. Oh well. It happens. Chalk it up, move on.

I have been thinking about some adjustments to my program, what with my next cycle starting soon. Been reading the second edition of the Wendler 5/3/1 book and it got me thinking about a few things. I’ll probably have a rambling post at some point about it all. 🙂

Nothing like a fantastic workout to start the week off right. Set a fantastic personal record (PR), and everything just went awesome.

“Week 3”

• 5/3/1 – Deadlift (working max: 295#)
  • 1x5x120
  • 1x5x150
  • 1x3x180
  • 1x5x225 (work)
  • 1x3x255
  • 1x8x285 (PR)
• Asst. #1 – Good Mornings
  • 5 x 10 x 65
• Asst. #2 – Hanging Leg Hip Raise
  • 5 x 10 x WT
• GPP – Sprints
  • Tabata style (20 sec. sprint, 10 sec. walk)
  • 2 “laps” walking (warmup)
  • 5 “reps” (8 reps is one Tabata set)
  • 2 “laps” walking (cooldown)
• Grip
  • 2x10xS, 2 sec. hold between reps
  • 3x5xT, 2 sec. hold between reps
  • 1 10 sec hold, No. 1
• DeFranco Agile 8

Today just kicked-ass.

Set a great PR, 1x8x285. I don’t know if it’s because I love deadlifting, or if I love deadlifting because I get to move a lot of weight and there’s something just fundamentally primal about picking a shitload of weight off the ground as a show of strength (same with overhead pressing). Whatever it is, deadlift days are probably my favorite and today demonstrated why. Just strong strong strong. Everything moved well. I stopped at 8 reps because in fact I actually felt my back muscles say “OK, starting to feel exhausting, leave a couple in the tank.” which is different from past times where I’ve stopped for some other reason (e.g. last week’s deadlift stopping because of lightheadedness). Just went really well, and honestly I can’t wait to break the 300# barrier.

Good mornings were a bitch because I actually exhausted my back pretty well during the deadlifts. 🙂

During the leg raises I noticed… well, I’ve noticed the past time or two that I’m starting to curl all the way up, kinda gymnast-like. The way Wendler describes you to do things, you actually do it with straight legs and bring your toes up to the bar. Well, I can’t quite do it with legs extended, but the thighs and body are certainly in the proper position that if legs were straight they would be touching. I’m finding myself getting into the movement a bit more, still minimizing momentum, still trying to be as dead-hang as possible so it’s all me muscling through it, but increasing the full range of motion. This is good.

Sprints continue to feel better each time I do them, body is getting used to it, slow but sure. Same with the Agile 8.

On grip…. well, in and of itself it’s fine. But I picked up the second edition of the Wendler 5/3/1 book and of course I’m having some thoughts on how to tweak my program. Assistance work is supposed to help you work on weak spots, and grip/forearms are in there. So I’m thinking about things to do… many thoughts swirling in my head, no firm idea yet. But one thought is bringing “rest-pause” into the mix and maybe ditching the “light” day of my grip work (on bench press/row day) and instead doing something like pronated-grip/reverse curls to work the brachioradialis in a rest-pause set (1x5x50%, then 1×60% rest-pause style… after rows, and that’s all I add). Not sure, we’ll see. Just thinking a lot, no need to make a decision for a while yet.

Anyways, today felt awesome.

Speaking of the 2nd edition of Wendler 5/3/1, another thing I’m trying to do is change up the diet a bit more. I’ve been doing well on the “carb” thing, minimizing carbs from high-carb sources and worthless carbs, but lots and lots of veggies, green leafies, etc., tho I still have some carbs (e.g. oats in the post-workout shake) and other such things. But the bigger thing is more protein. One of Wendler’s templates has you chug 50g of whey just before a meal, then have about 30-50g of meat during the meal (followed by some other carbs and such) and do this 4-6 times a day. I’m working on about 4x a day because that’ll put me at about 300-400g protein a day, with minimal other stuff (fats are still reasonable, carbs kept minimal tho again lots of low-carb veggies). And we’ll see how it goes. I have been thinking I need to up my protein for various reasons, but I’ll have to watch it because I do not want to just get fat which has happened in the past when I consumed vast quantities of protein, but I think it was also because I didn’t mind my other macronutrient intake.

Just experimenting.

Set an awesome, but strangely anti-climatic, personal record.

“Week 3”

• 5/3/1 – Press (working max: 140#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x55
  • 1x5x70
  • 1x3x85
  • 1x5x105 (work)
  • 1x3x120
  • 1x5x135 (PR)
• Asst. #1 – Press
  • 5 x 10 x 65
• Asst. #2 – Supinated shoulder-width grip lat pulldowns
  • 5 x 10 x 120
• GPP – Sprints
  • Tabata style (20 sec. sprint, 10 sec. walk)
  • 2 “laps” walking (warmup)
  • 5 “reps” (8 reps is one Tabata set)
  • 2 “laps” walking (cooldown)
• DeFranco Agile 8

Today’s PR was a significant one because I broke into the realm of 45# plates on my press. 🙂

But oddly, it was anti-climactic. Of course, I knew for weeks this PR day was coming and I knew I’d set a PR because that’s just how the program progresses. I was really looking forward to it for the fact I’d be using 45’s and while I don’t lift for ego, there’s no question the ego gets satisfied with things like that. Once you start moving 45’s, you start to feel like you’re moving real weight. So I’ve been looking forward to today for weeks. Even last night before I went to bed I was giddy with excitement. When I loaded the plates onto the bar it felt cool. I was smiling a lot. When I pulled the bar out of the rack, it felt a little different because there’s a change in how the weight feels with the larger plates (center of gravity and such), but really not a whole lot. And I just pressed like anything else. When I was done and racked the bar, I thought I might feel some elation and excitement, but it just felt like any old press set.

In a way, I was bummed… but then, I don’t know what I was expecting to feel because it’s just weight. But in a way, I thought it was kinda cool I didn’t feel anything special about it because it’s just weight. The body and muscles don’t care that it’s 45# plates, only my mind and ego.

So still, very cool. I’m happy to have cranked out 5 reps with it. And now, life goes on… next up, 140#. And so on, and so on.

One thing on a form factor, I continue to work with my breathing so I don’t get all light-headed. I am finding that just breathing regularly up to the bar, tighten up and hold breath and unrack, if I feel the need then exhale while I get into position but keep tight, take as many breaths as I need before I start doing the movement to get my head clear and solid (tho not too long, of course), and then get going. On Press it’s slightly different since I want to breathe at the top of the movement so, I breath, press the first rep up, then breath again and THERE I start my rhythm… so it’s a bit of an “off beat” but alright.

Everything else rolled OK. I am thinking that sooner or later I’m going to stop doing lat pulldowns and try going back to chin-ups. Not sure I’m ready for it yet, but I have thought about buying a band to help me if I can’t yet crank out enough reps. The goal is of course to do proper chins, and so who knows… maybe if I’m not there yet I shouldn’t just crank 5×10 across on my lat pulldowns but try to move it more to a 5×5 across to get the strength up. We’ll see.

I’m glad I’m repeating the cycle.

“Week 2”

• 3 reps – Squat (working max: 240#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x120
• 1x3x145
• 1x3x170 (work)
• 1x3x195
• 1x5x220

I am glad I opted to fall back on squats and repeat my weights/numbers from the previous cycle. What with the sprinting, I think I need it. I repeated my performance from last cycle, doing 5 reps with 220. This actually felt better tho. I’m working on the “light headed” feeling by getting under the bar without much fanfare and extra breathing. Big breath in, tighten up, lift the bar, and keep myself tight as I back out BUT allow myself to exhale while I back out. The struggle here is letting the air out while maintaining tightness. Get into position, allow myself a couple breaths, then go. And that seems to be helping. Good deal.

Sprints actually felt good this morning. Note that it’s below freezing outside. I still walked to the gym and then ran (all hail good warm Under Armour sweats!). Even after all the leg work, I managed to do alright with sprints. I think that I’m finding a good groove where I don’t need to kill myself but I’m still pushing myself. I may stick with 5 “reps” during next week, we’ll just see how I feel. No need to kill myself, this is a marathon (to mix metaphors).

I’m also feeling better with the DeFranco Agile 8. Seems to be helping… at least my adductors don’t feel as tight.

Looking forward to the week ahead. PR time!

Today was alright.

“Week 2”

• 3 Reps – Bench Press (working max: 210#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x85
  • 1x5x105
  • 1x3x130
  • 1x3x150 (work)
  • 1x3x170
  • 1x7x190
• Asst. #1 – Bench Press
  • 5 x 10 x 120
• Asst. #2 – 1 Arm DB Rows
  • 5 x 10 x 50
• Grip
  • 3x10xS, 2 sec. hold between reps
• DeFranco Agile 8

Nothing really to report. A good workout in general. I tried wearing my belt during benching but it’s the same thing with presses: I tighten my midsection instead of pressing out. I just have to take the time to adjust and get used to it… to make the mental shift. Tho I’m probably not going to focus on it too much more since “week 3” heavy week is almost upon me. Just do what I do and during deload and into the next cycle I can continue to work on it.

I didn’t sprint today due to lack of time, heavy rain, and icy cold wind. Plus I drove to/from the gym. Wuss, I know. I also find the DeFranco Agile 8 can wind me some…. is that right? Or is my aerobic capacity just that crappy? *sigh* It makes me think that I might want to change up my cycle a bit and see about focusing on weight loss for a time… but, the reality is if I stay steady on the sprints and keep my diet in check, that should help me shed the flab. So, I just need to give it more time before I change things up too much.

Nothing much to report. Just another day at the gym.

Today was a good, but abbreviated, day.

“Week 2”

• 3 reps – Deadlift (working max: 295#)
  • 1x5x120 (warmup)
  • 1x5x150
  • 1x3x180
  • 1x5x210 – oops (work)
  • 1x3x240
  • 1x10x270 (PR-ish)
• Asst. #1 – Good Mornings
  • 5 x 10 x 65
• Asst. #2 – Hanging Knee Curl/Raises
  • 5 x 6 x BW
• DeFranco Agile 8
• Grip
  • 2x10xS, 2 sec. hold between reps
  • 3x5xT, 2 sec. hold between reps
  • 1 10 sec hold, No. 1

I had to cut today short. I had an early appointment to tend to, so time was critical this morning. I drove to/from the gym, I supersetted the assistance work, I didn’t sprint. Not what I wanted to do, but it shaved off 30 minutes and that was important time. Just how it goes sometimes.

But I think it may have played well into mental outlook on the workout. First, I wasn’t distracted with the workout. The mindset wasn’t wondering about the workout, it was “just get in there, lift, leave”. As well, I figure since I didn’t feel a need to worry about having energy for other things, I put everything into it. Hitting 10 reps @ 270# isn’t a pure PR, but the last true PR was 1x8x275; 10 reps with 270 isn’t something I’ve done before, and when you “mathematically compare” those two amounts of work (for whatever equations are worth), today was more than the true PR. I don’t really care about being a true PR or not, just that I know I’m getting stronger and better. I attribute this to better mindset, improvements on my sleep issues which contributes to better recovery, and just a desire to break that 300# work weight barrier. 🙂

Frankly the only reason I stopped at 10 reps is because well… that’s still a LOT for what should be a “>3 rep” set, and I just got to a point where my head said “enough” because all that breath holding was getting me a little light headed. Needed a break. 🙂

Supersetting the GM’s and curls is probably something I should stop doing. It seems my right shoulder isn’t happy with that, because it goes from this extreme position of flexion in the “squat” position to being at an extreme extension/hang/stretch with the curls. It’s just a lot of extreme stress on the shoulder and it told me so. Before the 5th set I took about 30 seconds of rest between the two and my shoulder was much happier. So, that’s how it goes. Still, I feel good about the curls, really getting my full body into it and getting my knees way up there and really curling my body into a fetal position… not just raising my legs up and stopping with thighs parallel. Feels good! In fact, today was so good that for a moment I thought “gee, so that’s how the gymnasts do it”. Not that I feel I’m anywhere near things, but for a fleeting moment I didn’t feel like such a wuss.

Alas, no sprints or anything else today. I did manage to do the grip work since that’s not too difficult to do while I do some other things around the house (instead of on my walk home, since I didn’t have one today). Just how it goes sometimes. I’ll resume on Monday.