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Flat Bench Press: 55x3, 75x3, 95x3, 115x3, 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 195x3, 215x1, 225x0, 225x0, 225x0.

What can I say, I wanted to see where I was, if this program was working for my bench. All the math for the main work and for my accessory work should have gotten me to 215 by this point, and I was not disappointed. 225 would have been nice, since I haven't touched it since Virtualmeet 2009: I had control of it but could not power it up. At this point, I am confident enough with 5/3/1 to leave it alone.

5/3/1 Round 2: Deadlift Deload

Today I got sidetracked from what my workout normally is. Someone from my job needed a ride home, and my wife needed me to go to Walmart to pick up a few things. So this entire workout was done at home. BUt just as well, because it was a great workout, felt good not to have to max out.

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Conventional Deadlift w/1 pair r of Chains and no 45s: 115x5,135x5, 165x5, 195x5. I did this to get a feel for this type of movement, not much more. It felt really good, I could see turning this being a difference maker. But that's for another time. I spent a lot of my time in Africa experimenting so much with deficit deads that my regular deadlift went to seed, so time to show it some love.

12" Front Box Squat: 170x5x5.

GHR: 5 sets of 4

Single Calf Raises: An explanation of how I do these: Right leg first, then the left, then both, then a long rep with the right leg. That's a set. I don't count reps: I go until I cant, and I make sure to do the same reps for each leg.

GHR Reverse Hyper (Monster Mini Bands): 5 sets of 4.

5/3/1 Round 2: Bench Press Deload

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Flat Bench Press: 65x5, 80x5, 95x5, 115x5

T-Bar Row: 130x6x5. Did these at lunch.
Assisted Chinup (Light/Monster Mini Band): 5 sets of 5

DB Shoulder Press: 60x6x5. I had too many things to do today and the gym was packed solid (Bench Press Monday). So I did these at home instead of the laterals.

Triset:
DB Extensions to the Neck: 30x6x5
DB Hammer Curls: 35x6x5
Grippers: 3 sets of 15

5/3/1 Round 2: Squat 5/3/1

13" SSB Box Squat: Barx5, 100x5, 120x5, 145x3, 170x2, 180x5, 205x3, 235x4 (Rep Out Set).

SSB Arched Back Good Morning: 120x10x4

16" Lateral Step-Up w/Strength Shoes: 4 sets of 13. While the usual stuff was working to bring my calves up, I felt like I've done this before and needed to do better. And I felt as if I needed more lateral work. And I did not want another exercise. So I did these and REALLY slammed my calves: felt like it got deep into the calf. Think about it: several times my bodyweight on the impact leg each time I step on and off. Nothing but win? We'll see. I'm going to do them each leg day.

GHR: 5 sets of 4. Enough of the assistance with this one. While more reps felt good, I need to bring my strength up. Besides, the leg curls and GMs are all the rep work my hams need.

5/3/1 Round 2: Military Press 5/3/1

Incline Bench Press w/1-pr Chains: 55x5, 70x5, 90x5, 105x3, 125x2, 135x5, 150x5, 170x3 (Rep Out Set), 190x3 (Rep Out Set w/chains removed). I felt frisky and curious, so I removed the chains and added 20 pounds. The weight felt tight when I racked it, went down easy and though I should have been spent from the first max out, the weight went up smooth and steady. The third rep at 190 did was harder, though, ran out of steam halfway up.

Assisted Dips (Light/Monster Mini Bands): Repped Out at 14, 12 reps

Assisted Pullups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 6 sets of 4

DB Rows (Elbows In): 50x12x3

DB Curls: 25x12x3

DB Shrugs: 45x12x3

Wrist Roller: 10x2x3

5/3/1 Round 2: Deadlift 5/3/1

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Conventional Deadlift: 135x5, 165x5, 195x3, 230x2, 245x5, 280x3, 310x3 (Rep Out Set). My was decent, but I didn't have much speed.

12" Front Box Squat: 120x10x4. Did I tell you I hate high rep squats? Especially after deads?

Hoist Roc-It Leg Curls: 97x12x3

Seated Calf Raises: 50x12x3

GHR Reverse Hyper (Monster Mini Bands): 5 sets of 4. 1 more rep per set than last week.

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

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Flat Bench Press: 65x5, 80x5, 95x5, 115x3, 135x2, 145x5, 165x3, 185x3 (Rep Out Set).

T-Bar Row: 90x12x3

Assisted Chinup (Light/Monster Mini Band): 6 sets of 5

Nautilus Nitro Laterals: 65x12x3

Triset:
DB Extensions to the Neck: 25x12x3
DB Hammer Curls: 25x12x3
Grippers: 3 sets of 14

I've been bad with updating this blog but am trying to get better. I have managed to stay consistent as far as the working out goes: Next week I deload off of Round 2 of 5/3/1, and then I begin Round 3.

For the past couple of months, I have been training and experimenting trying to find a setup that would work for what I wanted. And what I wanted was to gain back all the mass I lost while in the hospital and to get back to a slightly better place than I was before. One of the things I did during that time was to not do cardio and just lift. I'm close to where I want to be and have started now to eat cleaner, since I am up to 234 pounds. I start doing cardio again this week: I don't have to do a Navy Physical Fitness Test until the fall so it's time to train now for that. I dropped the single leg work for a while: the way I have set it up now has me squatting/deadlifting twice a week (Squat Main/SSB Arched Back GM follow up and Conventional Deadlift/12" Front Box Squat follow up). I substituted incline bench presses for military press but do dips as a rep-out movement to follow and Nautilus Laterals on bench day to make up for it. I do grip work twice a week and that has really helped: a few weeks ago, I pulled a 345 single with a double overhand grip for the first time ever (damn Finns inspired me). I'm doing more triceps work, and have stuck with dumbbell work for biceps since doing a lot of back work takes care of my compound biceps needs. I have also started doing Reverse Hypers using my GHR and Bands (Setup article forthcoming). After deadlifting, these have really helped me recover faster from the workouts: deadlifting in 5/3/1 is hard work. After August, I'll start incorporating speed work and less rep work into 5/3/1.

To end, these were my tested maxes when I restarted 5/3/1, using tested 1RM:
Flat Bench Press: 205 pounds
Conventional Deadlift: 345 pounds
Incline Bench Press: 185 pounds
13" SSB Box Squat: 255 pounds

In Round 2 was when I started using the front squats and good mornings: Both were tested to a 175 lbs 5RM (about 196 lbs calculated max). Each week I change the rep scheme on those two.

5/3/1: Bench Press

22MAR2010: All Notation Weight x Reps x Sets

Nautilus Lateral Raises: 55x15x3, 65x10x4
T-Bar Row: 90x10x4

Did these at Bangor Gym. I was making up for last week (sort of) with the laterals, and had such a crazy pump that I couldn't raise my arms for a while. Was going to do the rest of the workout after dinner but we got a case of a real good, 2007 14 Hands Cabernet (Usually sold only in restaurants). After a heavy steak dinner and a couple of full glasses of wine, I lost all urge to workout.

23MAR2010:
Flat Bench Press: worked up to 150x3, 160x3, 170x5 (Rep Out Set)
Assisted Chinup (Monster Mini/Light Bands): 6 sets of 3
DB Extensions: 20x10x4
DB Hammer Curls: 25x10x4
DB Hex Holds (25 lbs): 3 holds for max time.

5/3/1: Squat

13" SSB Box Squat: Worked up to 175x5, 185x5, 195x7 (Rep Out Set). I decided to commit to 5/3/1 after much experimentation (to be covered by another post). I really wanted to do ME/DE days but wanted to get my muscle back first and get used to lifting heavy stuff a lot. I used to use a 14" box as parallel for the longest time but in testing discovered that it was too much like my regular squat in load when it should be a little less. That, and I always felt that in the last few comps that as soon as I dipped below parallel that I had a slight bit of delay out of the hole. So this will be my new baseline for "parallel".

Single Calf Raises: 5 sets of 6

16" Lateral Step Ups w/Strength Shoes: 4 sets of 12. I haven't worn mine in years and wanted to give these a try. The burn in my calves let me know why I bought these (In Michael Yessis' Kinesiology book, you see people doing squats and lunges with them.) I don't believe they will add 6" to my vertical in 3 weeks or so but let's see what they do.

Assisted GHR (Average Bands): 4 sets of 9

Spent 20 minutes ferociously punching and kicking the heavy bag. Kicked my ass proper.

Shoulders

Incline Bench Press: worked up to a 165 lbs 5RM (about 180 pounds calculated max) and a 185 lbs 1RM.
Assisted Dips (Monster Mini/Light Bands): repped out at 17 and 12 reps
Assisted Pullups (Monster Mini/Light Bands): 5 sets of 3
DB Rows (Elbows In): worked up to a 65 lbs 5RM, a 70 lbs 3RM, and a 75 lbs single. After all that, I skipped the Db Shrugs, Wrist Roller, and Db Incline Curls. Maybe on leg day, eh?

In the Groove (Finally)

15MAR2010:
All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Flat Bench Press: 140X5, 150X5, 160X7 (Rep Out Set)
Assisted Chinups(Monster Mini/Light Bands): 5 sets of 3
T-Bar Row: 70X15X3
Nautilus Laterals: Worked up to 100 lbs 2RM
DB Extensions: 15X15X3
DB Hammer Curls: 20x15X3
DB Hex Holds: 25 X 3 for max time. 30 seconds was my max time, 20 seconds on my last set

16MAR2010:
DB Swings: 30x6x4. If this doesn't seem like a lot, my coordination was barely good with this and my balance was off. I've never done these, either. The weight will come.
Conventional Deadlift: 230X5, 245X5, 265X7 (Rep Out Set)
Hoist Roc-It Leg Curls: 133x5x5
Seated Calf Raises: worked up to 80 lbs 4RM
GHR Reverse Hyper W/Monster Mini Bands: 2 sets of 3, 2 sets of 2. I got the rigging right but now the resistance was stronger. These sets were to failure.
Bulgarian Split Squats: BWTx6x4. Done after everything else, just didn't have much left.
GHR Situps: BWTx6x4. Hard, and I was being deliberate with these.

The following exercises get done at the Naval Submarine Base Bangor Gym first, then I do the rest at home: T-Bar Row, Nautilus Laterals, Hoist Roc-It Leg Curls, and Seated Calf Raises.

Week 1: Deadlift Variant

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Snatch Grip Deadlift: (Double Overhand Grip)135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 195x5; (Staggered Grip) 215x1. I was steady but deliberate, didn't want to be anything less than smooth.

14" SSB Box Squats: 165x5x4. I had no pop, and to be on the safe side I would pause momentarily to chekc my tightness and then rise. I will be ordering a proper belt this week. Either an Inzer Forever belt or a Titan Toro.

Assisted GHR (Average Bands): Repped Out for 3 sets of 7. Weak, but it felt good to be on a proper GHR.

18" Lateral Step Ups: 3 sets of 8

Single Calf Raises: Sets of 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 3 reps.

Week 1:Bench Press Variant

For now, that's what I'll call it as I got my workouts started yesterday. My first target is the August Virtualmeet. I have 27 weeks until that. I also want my running and chinups to be better than it was before I went in for surgery and I want a higher total at a lighter weight than the last meet.

I wanted to do 5/3/1 but since I want to get back to where I was in everything, I didn't want to have to worry about deloading. This would give me 9 waves vice 6. That, and I wanted to squat and deadlift twice a week, and I wanted more variety this time around. Not a fault of the program, mind you, but with limited gear in Africa I did the same things a lot there and needed some variety.

1.) So right now the days are: Bench Press Variant, Back Squat Variant, Military Press Variant, Front Squat Variant. It's a 5/3/1 type setup but week one I work up to a 5 rep max, then weeks 2 and 3 are calculated using 90% of the calculated 1RM to compute the attempts. There is no deload: I just switch movements. The template for the assistance work will remain,as before, WSFSB III.

2.) Deadlifts will be right after squats, and I will drop the shrugs on upper body days. The deadlifts will be done using submaximal loads (Week 1: 72% for 4 sets of 5, week 2: 75% for 3 sets of 6, week 3: 63% for 5 sets of 5). I want my deadlift back, but I don't want to strain too much. I could put all my focus into form. Though for the first two waves, I will be doing this with squats since I want to test deadlifts.

3.) The rest will be tried and true stuff and as time goes on I'll add things. Right now, I'm gonna play it by ear.

So, without further ado . . . . .

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Flat Bench Press: 55x10, 75x8, 95x6, 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 165x3. I should have stopped at 155x5 but I thought I had a slim chance at 165x5. No matter: next week I'll just do the 5s.

Triceps Death (2/3/4/5 Board Rep Out): 115x13/7/5/5 reps, 115x10/6/5/5 reps

Assisted Chinups (Average Bands): Rep out to 6 reps, then 4 sets of 5

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 50x4, then 35x9x3

Barbell Curls: 50x8x4

Gut Check

Man, it has been almost two months since I left Djibouti. And it has been just as long since I've lifted anything more than luggage. But today I started back up. My son wanted to test his bench press and he wanted to try and give 245 a ride on the squat. And he wanted me to come along and spot.

I tested out to a 175 max on the bench, 225x2 on the squat, 105x3 on the behind the neck press, and 1 each on the chinup and pullup at a bodyweight of 227. Sad, really, but my abdominal muscles were pretty good and held up. My son, soon to be 16 years old, can almost squat as much as me and is 30 pounds away from me on the bench press. Consider the fire in my ass lit!!!

Monday, I start up. Shouldn't take me long to get up to speed.

5/3/1 w/WSFSB III Assist Template: Week 7 Squat/Week 8 Bench Press

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

December 16:
12" Front Box Squat: 60x12, 75x10, 95x8, 115x6, 130x5, 140x5, 150x5, 160x5 (Rep Out Set)

Hammer Calf Machine: 140x10x4

Assisted Pistols (Average Bands): 4 sets of 6

45-degree Hyper: BWT x 12 x 4.

Leg Curls: 90x12x4

Assisted Situp (Light Bands): Sets of 20, 16, 12, 10 reps


December 17:
Hammer ISO Super Incline Press: 30x12, 35x10, 45x8, 55x6, 60x5, 65x5, 70x5, 75x6 (Rep Out Set)

Assisted Dip Machine: 75 lbs assistance x 9 reps x 2 sets

Assisted Chinup (Light Bands): 6 sets of 2

Hammer ISO Rows (Elbows Out): 80x13x2

Preacher Curls: 60x8x4

Behind The Back Shrugs: 120x10x4

5/3/1 w/WSFSB III Assist Template: Week 7 Military Press

Assisted Pullups (Light Bands): 5 sets of 2

Behind The Neck Press: 45x12, 55x10, 65x8, 80x6, 95x5, 100x5, 105x5, 115x6 (Rep Out Set)

Hammer ISO High Rows: 80x10x4

Triset:
Trap Bar Shrugs: 116x10x3
Pushups w/Feet Inclined 4": 20, 16, 12 reps
Reverse Curls: 60x8x3

Wrist Roller: 10x3x3.

5/3/1 w/WSFSB III Assist Template: Week 7 Deadlift

Sumo Deadlift w/35s: 115x10, 130x8, 160x6, 185x5, 195x5, 210x5, 225x6 (Rep Out Set). For my last "3 weeks" of sessions (a session everyday until Dec 22, then I'm outta Djibouti on the 23rd), I'm doing the same lift that I used 45s to test but using 35-pound plates instead for a longer pull. It went well, albeit a little tougher: my lower back was tested more so I was more deliberate with the reps.

Hammer Calf Machine: 120x12x4

Bulgarian Split Squats w/Front Foot Elevated: 4 sets of 13

Assisted GHR (Light Bands): 5 sets of 8

Assisted Situps (Light Bands): 5 sets of 20, 16, 14, 12, 10 reps.

5/3/1 w/WSFSB III Assist Template: Week 7 Bench Press

Hammer ISO Super Incline Press: 30x12, 35x10, 45x8, 55x6, 60x5, 65x5, 70x5, 75x6 (Rep Out Set)

Assisted Dip Machine: 75 lbs assist x 8 x 2

Assisted Chinup (Light Band): 5 sets of 2. 2 was all I could do for each set and I wanted a minimum of 10 reps. No pain, so life's good.

Hammer ISO Rows (Elbows Out): 80x12x4

Preacher Curls: 60x8x4

Behind The Back Shrugs: 120x8x4

Ending Week Six in One Workout

I got up at 4AM to do this workout . . . . ack. I was motivated by the urgency to get week 6 finished and by my idea to just use the essential movements only. I would have been really pumped if I wasn't so sleepy and grumpy.

12" Front Box Squat: 55x12, 70x10, 85x8, 105x6, 120x5, 130x5, 140x5, 145x5 (Rep Out Set). I wanted more but at least I hit the minimum.

Assisted Pullups (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 6 sets of 5. Time to take the monster mini bands off.

Superset:
Sumo Deadlift: 115x6, 135x6, 155x6, 175x6, 195x6, 215x6, 235x5, 245x2.
Behind The Neck Press: 45x12, 50x10, 65x8, 75x6, 90x5, 95x5, 100x5, 110x5 (Rep Out Set)

Backblogging The Rest of Week 5

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

December 3:
Sumo Deadlift: Worked up to 235x4. It's all starting to come back to me.

Hammer Calf Machine: Worked up to a 220 1RM.

Bulgarian Split Squats w/Front Foot Elevated: 3 sets of 12

Assisted GHR ((Light/Monster Mini Bands): 3 sets of 9.

Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets of 15

Assisted Situp (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 3 sets of 15.


December 5:
Behind The Neck Press: 45x12, 50x10, 65x8, 75x6, 90x5, 95x5, 100x5, 110x6 (Rep Out Set)

Assisted Pullup (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 5 sets of 5

Hammer ISO High Rows: 80x10x4

Triset:
Trap Bar Shrugs: 106x12x3
Reverse Curls: 50x10x3
Pushups: 3 sets of 20, 16, 12 reps

Wrist Roller: 10x3x2, 10x2


December 7:
12" Front Box Squat: Worked up to 165x4

Hammer Calf Machine: 110x15x3

Assisted Pistols (Average Bands): 4 sets of 5

45-degree Hyper: BWT x 10 x 5.

Leg Curls: 75x15x5

Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets of 15

Assisted Situp (Light/Monster Mini Bands): 3 sets of 15.