Back in the Gym Again

So after a week of doing bad things to my body in Helsinki (Booze, food, partying 'til the wee hours), I weighed in at 214 pounds this afternoon(I woke up at 2:30 PM today).

Hurrah!!! Only gained one pound over what I weighed in at for VirtualMeet.

This reminded me of a post from a blogger named Pastaqueen who took a trip through Europe, sampled many of their culinary delights, and actually lost a bit of weight. I know that the servings in Europe are not the same as America (they're much smaller), but much like her I think it may have been all the walking I did. Not only during the road trip but during my time in Helsinki. Lots and lots of sidewalks. Where I live in Washington, there ain't many of them. So much centralized in one spot in Helsinki that even clubhopping was a workout;)

It also didn't hurt that I did two workouts last week, so I wasn't idle much. Thanks to Måns Rinne, I worked out at Voimapuoti gym (formerly known as Metal Gym) and at Punttis Gym in Helsinki. And unlike previous times, no long layoffs. I started today.

I'll be running 5/3/1 until I leave in December. Since I have the time now and have enough testing data, I will actually be running it proper, right down to the deload weeks.. Of course, my goal will be to improve on my meet numbers, but I have two others. By the time I leave, I want to dip my bodyweight into the mid 190s. I also want to get a head start on a big goal for me: 500 DL/400 SQ/300 Bench by the end of 2010.

My main lifts will be the Flat Bench Press, Sumo Deadlift, Incline Bench Press, and 12" Box Front Squat. My main assistance movement for each day will be DB Shoulder Presses, Conventional Deadlifts, Assisted Dips, and Back Squats. For the Bench Press, Back Squat, and Conventional Deadlifts, I based my training max off of 85% of my meet maxes (I got this off of Phil Wylie from Bad Attitude Gym, who posted this on T-Nation's 5/3/1 thread). The other lifts are based off of 90% of my maxes last cycle or on what I tested on last week. Since I also wanted my chinups and pullups to be a priority, I dropped the direct biceps work and will start at 10 sets of 2, like I tried at the end of the last cycle. At the start of each wave, I'll add another rep (10x3, 10x4).

Today's session was pretty good. I felt a bit out of shape, but I'll also attribute that to some of the high rep work.

Flat Bench Press (200 Training Max): 60x5, 80x5, 100x5, 120x3, 140x2, 150x5, 160x5, 170x7 (Rep Out Set)

DB Shoulder Presses: 35x15x3

Assisted Chinups (Monster Mini Band): 10 sets of 2 reps. The last 4 sets were tough.

Hammer ISO High Row: 60x15x3

Trap Bar Shrugs: 106x15x3