5/3/1 Round 2: Squat 5RM

Parallel Box Squat: 95x5, 125x5, 155x5, 185x3, 215x2, 225x5, 245x5, 255x5

Parallel Box Squat: 185x10x3. I tried a 4th set but was so spent that I practically dive bombed to the box.

LifeFitness Treadmill: Hill Profile Level 7, 30 Minutes, 3.8 miles per hour.

5/3/1 Round 2: DB Shoulder Press 5RM

Day Before:
LifeFitness Elliptical: Hill Profile, Level 7, 45 Minutes

Today:
DB Shoulder Press: 25x5, 30x5, 40x5, 45x3, 55x2, 60x5, 60x5, 65x6

Assisted Dips: 60 lbs of assistance for 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 reps

Assisted Pullups (Light Bands): 6 sets of 3 reps

Hammer ISO Rows: 95x10x5

Behind The Back Shrugs: 135x10x5

DB Hammer Curls: 25x10x5

Rowing Machine (Aerobics): 20 minutes

5/3/1 Round 2: Deadlift 5RM

Conventional Deadlift: 115x5, 145x5, 175x5, 205x3, 240x2, 255x5, 270x5, 290x6

Leg Curls: 135x7, 6, 5, 4, 4 reps. This machine that I use only has 15 lbs increments.

Arched Back Good Morning: 145xtotal fail. Just didn't have it. Will have to figure something out I guess:

LifeFitness Treadmill: Hill Profile Level 7, 30 Minutes, 3.8 miles per hour.

5/3/1 Round 2: Bench Press 5RM

Flat Bench Press: 75x5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x2, 165x5, 175x5, 185x5 (Rep Out Set)

Incline Bench Press: 135x10x5

Assisted Chinups (Light Bands): 6 sets of 4 reps

Hammer ISO High Rows: 85x10x5

Hammer Curls: 30x10x5

Trap Bar Shrugs: 146x10x5

Just Aerobics

LifeFitness Elliptical: Hill Profile, Level 6, 45 Minutes

5/3/1: Round 1 Squat Deload

Early Morning:
LifeFitness Elliptical: Hill Profile, Level 6, 45 Minutes

Afternoon:
Parallel Box Squat: 95x5, 125x5, 155x5, 175x5

12" Front Box Squat: 145x10x5

Assisted GHR (Light Bands): 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 reps.

5/3/1: Round 1 DB Shoulder Press Deload

DB Shoulder Press: 25x5, 30x5, 35x5, 45x5

Assisted Dips: 75 lbs of assistance for 5 sets of 10

Assisted Pullups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 reps

Hammer ISO Rows: 95x10x5

Behind The Back Shrugs: 135x10x5

DB Hammer Curls: 25x10x5

5/3/1: Round 1 Deadlift Deload

Conventional Deadlift: 115x5, 145x5, 175x5, 205x5

Leg Curls: 120x10x5

Arched Back Good Morning: 145x10x5. After this, my back still felt solid but I stopped the workout after the calf raises. I'll bring the ab work back next week.

Hammer Calf Press: 220x10x3, 220x8x2

5/3/1: Round 1 Bench Deload

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Flat Bench Press: 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x5

Incline Bench Press: 135x10x5. Struggled the last two sets but I gutted them out.

Hammer ISO High Rows: 85x10x5

Assisted Chinups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 11, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps

Trap Bar Shrugs: 146x10x5

Preacher Curls: 55x10x5. I got the reps but I was reaching deep to finish each set. Next time, I think hammer curls on the days I do chinups might be a better choice.

5/3/1 Last 2 days

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

May 15th:
DB Shoulder Press: 25x5, 30x5, 35x5, 45x3, 50x2, 55x5, 60x3, 70x3 (Rep Out Set)

Assisted Dips: 75 lbs of assistance for 5 sets of 10

Assisted Pullups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 reps

Hammer ISO Rows: 95x10x5

Behind The Back Shrugs: 135x10x5

DB Hammer Curls: 25x10x5

May 16th:
Parallel Box Squat: 55x5, 75x5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 205x2, 225x5, 255x3, 285x1(Rep Out Set). Felt pretty good this morning but decided, just in case, to just go for the single. Did a little more of a warmup and was able to do one clean single . . . . . I passed on trying anything more. Left the gym fresh, no pain anywhere. Deload week will be great.

5/3/1: Deadlift 1RM

Since I had a half assed workout last weekend, and I felt great yesterday, I worked up to a 310 triple, then went to the 325 target and did that twice anyways. And after the cooldown, I went home with a smile:)

Today: LifeFitness Elliptical: Hill Profile, Level 5, 45 Minutes

5/3/1: Bench Press 1RM

LifeFitness Elliptical: Hill Profile, Level 5, 45 Minutes

Flat Bench Press: 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x3, 145x2, 155x5, 175x3, 195x3 (Rep Out Set)

Incline Bench Press: 135x10x4, 135x7.

Assisted Chinups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 12, 10, 8, 6, 6 reps

Hammer ISO High Rows: 85x10x5

Trap Bar Shrugs: 146x10x5

Preacher Curls: 55x10x5

Switcheroo

My deadlift workout felt hard again . . . . Fuck!?! On the 3RM day for 5/3/1, I was supposed to rep out with 290 in the end. I struggled to lift it just once. I just walked out of the gym, kinda bummed. Pissed, more like. Didn't do anything else.

A few hours later, it occured to me that maybe I was running into the same problem I once had with the squat/front squat: Since last year I had thrown so much work into deficit deadlifts that my regular deadlift suffered. So now, I could launch the weight better but after I get it off the floor, my lower back engages too soon because the weight is way heavy a few inches off the floor. I also felt as if my lower back was not recovering fast enough and came to the conclusion that with deadlifts one day, good mornings the next leg day, and being in body armor a lot, an overtrained lower back was a foregone conclusion.

I took some days off, and went to work rescheduling my workout. Good mornings will now be an assistance movement on deadlift day, front squats on squat day. On the 1RM squat and deadlift day, just this once, I'm not doing the assistance movements - - - to buy me some extra recovery time - - - but will bring them back on the deload week.

Let's see if this works.

5/3/1: Wave 1 Workout 5

(All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets):

Flat Bench Press: 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x3, 145x2, 165x3, 175x3, 185x5 (Rep Out Set)

Incline Bench Press: 125x10x5. Did not have to rest/pause this at all this time.

Hammer ISO High Rows: 42.5x5, 55x5, 70x5, 85x3, 97.5x2, 105x5, 112.5x5, 120x6 (Rep Out Set). An experiment for me. While the 5 sets of 10 is working for me, I'm thinking of applying the 5/3/1 to the rows simply for extra strength to back up my bench and deadlift. Or, I may just use the reps to calculate a new max to do the 5x10.

Hammer ISO Rows: 112.5x3, 120x3, 135x5 (Rep Out Set). This was so that, in case I use the 5/3/1, I could be caught up. Next upper body day, I will do a 5-rep day with the regular rows and the 3 reps with the high rows.

Trap Bar Shrugs: 146x10x5

Preacher Curls: 55x10x2, 55x9+1, 55x7+3, 55+7+3. Getting better, and this even after all the heavy rowing.

5/3/1: Wave 1 Workout 4

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Parallel Box Squat: 90x5, 120x5, 145x5, 175x3, 205x2, 220x5, 235x5, 250x5 (Rep Out Set)

Leg Curls: 120x10x5

Arched Back Good Morning: 145x10x5

Hanging Leg Raises:6, 6, 5, 5, 4 reps

Hammer Calf Press: 210x10x5

5/3/1: Wave 1 Workout 3

DB Shoulder Press: 25x5, 30x5, 35x5, 45x3, 50x2, 55x5, 60x5, 60x7 (Rep Out Set)

Assisted Dips: 75 lbs of assistance for 5 sets of 10

Assisted Chinups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 reps

Hammer ISO High Rows: 75x10x5

Behind The Back Shrugs: 120x10x5

DB Hammer Curls: 25x10x5

The last 3 exercises I kept the same from last week, but the 1st 3 exercises showed either improvements in number of reps or weight handled. So I'm a happy camper;)

5/3/1: Wave 1 Workout 2

I went into the gym at 12:15 AM this morning since I couldn't sleep or get motivated enough to go in sooner. My workout plan also changed: I switched over to conventional deadlift, no deficit. This was so I could get reacquainted with the movement, and I also feared that having done less weight at a deficit for so long would kill me when switching back since only the bottom would be overloaded. Since I didn't know where I was conventional-wise, I just did 5 rep sets until I couldn't anymore, working up to a 310 lbs 5RM (135x5, 170x5, 205x5, 240x5, 275x5, 310x5, 345x0). In retrospect, I should have stuck to my original plan: work off of a 395 projected max (355 training max). The logic being aside from my indicators pointing to a 395 max, my logs show that when I do squats/DL, every inch of deficit is a 10 lbs drop - - - so a 355 4" deficit deadlift would be about 395 conventional deadlift. It would have looked like this: 145x5, 180x5, 215x3, 250x2, 265x5, 285x5, 300 AMRAP. This wiped me out, and I found that I was right: fast off the floor now but slow after the midpoint.

12" Front Box Squat: 145x10x2, 145x8x2, 145x7. This wiped the floor with me. Maybe it was just late or the deadlifts drained me. Or I need to get used to doing this for volume.

Hammer Calf Presses: 210x10x5

Assisted GHR (Light Bands): 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 reps. Now, THAT'S what I wanted, more reps and sets with over 10 reps. Each wave, the bands will get lighter: monster minis in Wave 2 and back to bodyweight for Wave 3.

After this, I gave up on the ab work and walked back to my room. Actually, crawl was more like it. I was out of breath AND sleepy, it was 1:30 AM, and I had to get up in 3 hours.

5/3/1: Wave 1 Workout 1

(All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets):

Flat Bench Press: 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x3, 145x2, 155x5, 165x5, 175x6 (Rep Out Set)

Incline Bench Press: 125x10x2, 125x9+1, 125x7+3, 125x6+3+1

Assisted Chinups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 8, 7, 6, 5, 5 reps

Hammer ISO Rows: 85x10x5

Trap Bar Shrugs: 126x10x5

Preacher Curls: 55x10x2, 55x9, 55x8, 55x7

Lower Body Workout/Squat Test

Since I will be back squatting again for the next 12 weeks and haven't squatted outside of a Smith Machine in a long time, I decided to test with box squats instead of doing deadlifts, and I dropped the good mornings for today.

I looked back at my old workouts and at the Virtual Meets that I've done and had some concerns. I remember the 340 squat attempt that I lost at the bottom in September 2007; I also remembered having a hard time holding the weight on my back because I had done a whole cycle of training with a Safety Squat Bar. I remember the front squat cycle where I ended up with a 275 front squat but my back squat stayed put at 315 because I had totally abandoned it during that time.

My worries up until today, ergo, was holding a weight on my back, doing a walkout, staying balanced, what I could lift outside of the Smith. Hell, I was incredibly curious as to whether I could back squat well at all!?!

14" Box Squat (1-second pause): starting at 105 lbs, I did triples in increments of 30 lbs until I could no longer hit a triple - - - I hit a 2RM at 285 lbs. I then attempted a 315 lbs squat to the box: My legs were rock solid upon racking the weight, the bar was solid on my back, the walkout was good, I had a tight arch and full control all the way to the box. But at the bottom, I couldn't lift it. And I noticed something else: When I racked the 315, I lost my air and had to get it back before descending. Overall, I was happy: I have a 30-lbs carryover to regular squats from the box so I'm looking at about a 320-325 lbs squat. The arched back good mornings and front squats will stay as assistance movements, I think these movements have helped me and don't want to lose what I've worked for so far. I will also throw in weighted ab work.

Leg Curls: 120x10x3, 120x9, 120x8. The leg curl machine is set in 15 lbs increments and I could already do 12+ reps with 105 lbs so I had to move up to 120 lbs. So after each wave of 5/3/1, I will increase the weight to the next setting and just rep out.

Hammer Calf Press: 200x10x5

5/3/1 Uncoupled

Now that I have a walkie talkie, and can be reached anywhere on base, and do not have to be tethered to my squad as much for every move I make, I started doing independent upper/lower body days again. I also started following the 5/3/1 template for assistance work, 5 sets of 10 reps, which should help me get more solid and lean.

As of Monday, I have twelve weeks until the Virtual Meet. I will start over again with the 5/3/1 with different maxes and lifts and the addition of the deload week so that's 3 waves I can get done. My last weight session will be July 5th. No, I won't do openers: I will just guess wisely. My goal is to come in at 200 lbs but we'll see: between flying in to Finland from Africa and the ride to Vaasa, my eating and sleeping cycle might keep me from that. No matter what, it should be fun.

Yesterday, we trained at the US Embassy in Djibouti, practicing "taking it back" from an enemy. A lot of the practices/drills are, essentially, my cardio. In the past, I've done 1 hour walks with body armor but this is a step above that: double that time, add an M16 and lots of ammo and a Kevlar helmet, and runs/jogs/sprints in defensive positions in the heat and you have a ballbuster. Which is why if I'm asked what kind of shape I'm in I will answer that it's better than it was a month or so ago, but it depends on the task. It can only get better, I keep telling myself.

I'm eating very smart these days though, because my sleep schedule is kind of screwed up, 3 meals a day is about the best that it gets. I dropped a lot of the soda and junk, and that's one of the other reasons why I'm getting leaner. I do the best that I can with what I've got, sometimes I would rather sleep than eat.

Now, here's today's workout. The assistance work tired me out.

DB Shoulder Press: 20x5, 30x5, 35x5, 40x3, 50x2, 50x3, 60x3, 60x4 (Rep Out Set)

Assisted Dips: 90lbs of assistance for 5 sets of 10

Assisted Chinups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 reps

Hammer ISO High Rows: 75x10x5

Behind The Back Shrugs: 120x10x5

DB Hammer Curls: 25x10x5