De-Load Week Is Over

My training schedule has been a bit sketchy these past few weeks due to the camping trip I took 4/15-4/16, the unwaivering calve soreness that ensued from hiking 14 miles, a scheduled de-load week and a mildly injured right bicep.

In my new program, I have shortened my de-load week in comparison to my previous 16-week program. Instead a whole week devoted to de-load, this is 3 sessions of 4 for de-load. My volume squat day always stays the same, that is increases weight every week. My intensity squat/deadlift day, my press day and bench day are all de-load. However, I tweaked my right bicep bench pressing and am currently undergoing a rehab process to prevent any further injury and heal as fast as possible so I can work on trying to get a mediocre bench press again.

Friday 4/22/11

Back Squat

5x5 @ 340# (set x rep PR)

Weighted Lunge

3x12 with 50# dumbbells

Saturday

Rehab incline dumbbell press

4x10 @ 60#

Pull ups

3x10 @ bodyweight

Conditioning

4 rounds:

20 double unders

15 kb swings @ 1.5 pood

10 knees to elbows

6:35

For the conditioning everything was done unbroken with no failed or missed reps. Swings were the hardest. My several month hiatus from double unders seemed to have no effect on my performance, I am a Kangaroo Kid.

Updates Because I'm a Blog Slacker

In my defense I have been really freaking busy and have not had the motivation to update my training, but I am training and its going well! I have been experiencing some bicep discomfort in my right arm when I bench press. It radiates through my whole arm during my bench workout. I have decided to take a week off from bench. I am going backpacking this weekend anyways so its good timing.


My new program is awesome. I am IN love with it. I have been squatting heavy (its all relative, give me a break) on Tuesdays and lighter but with a much higher volume (then I have ever done) on Fridays. I am noticing improvement in my peace of mind and form. Unfortunately, I was noticing that my deadlift was suffering due to the heavier workload. I was forced to put two workouts together on Tuesday to compensate for my days missed by this camping trip. I found that this worked wonders for my deadlift, I felt strong and I performed better setting a PR. I think I am going to squat heavy on Tuesday followed by a deadlift workout from now on and use Wednesday as my assistance exercise day. Without further ado, here are some of the lifts I have done since my last post:


Back Squat:
3x1 @ 395#
5x5 @ 325#


Bench Press
1x2 @ 285 (PR)


Deadlift
1x3 @ 510# (PR)


I will squat a volume day today and perform some pull ups and GHD sit ups. Then I will be embarking on a 27 mile hike over three days to "rest."

Busy

Okay so it has been a week since I last posted, my b yo. In that week I have endured 3 workouts to which I will fill you in now.


Wednesday


Deadlift
1x5 @ 365#
1x5 @ 405#
1x6 + 3 @ 455#


Weighted Chin Ups
1x8 @ 25#
2x9 @ 25#


GHD Sit Ups
3x20 @ bodyweight


Yea, so I was definitely feeling fatigued from squatting heavy the day before. The weight felt quite heavy when pulling. After 6 reps I had to let go of the bar and back off to rest. Knowing that I got 9 reps (fresh as a daisy I might add) last time I pulled 455# I knew I wasn't done, after taking a short break I stepped up and pulled it 3 more times. Definitely not a mistake but I felt it for the next few days! I am hoping my body will adjust to the workload which I am sure it will. Also, chin ups are awkward as funk!


Friday


Back Squat
5x5 @ 315#


Step Ups
3x10 @ 95# (18" box)


Great day! I have been tweaking the width at which I hold the bar when I squat. Today I really noticed a difference. It helped me stay more upright and 5x5 at 315# felt easier then 5x5 at 305# last week. I will also give credit to my consistent stretching and PVC rolling that I have been doing everyday. I am also tightening up my diet and sleep regimen so keep ya head up. I had to postpone the conditioning until Saturday because we were hungry and tired. This may become a regular occurrence.


Saturday


Bench Press
1x3 @ 215#
1x3 @ 245#
1x3 @ 275# (PR)


Strict Press
3x5 @ 155#


Weighted Pull Ups
1x10 @ 25#
1x8 @ 35#
1x6 @ 45#


Conditioning
3 rounds:
500m run
20 KB swings @ 1 pood


9:10


Well, it seems as though my bench routine may be a little too heavy. I was supposed to press the last set for 3+ reps and I was only able to get it about 1/3 of the way on rep 4 (still exceeds my previous PR of 1 with 275#). I will see how next week goes and decide on the future at that time. I felt strong today, it was beautiful out (except for a quick downpour during our session) and I worked hard. I am proud with all of this session.

Heavy-ER Day

The soreness was almost completely gone when I arrived at the gym. I am trying to get in a rhythm of having a warm up that consists of riding the bike, PVC rolling and stretching. Not only do I feel better during the session but my body is noticing the benefits when I am not training as well.

Back Squat:

5x1 @ 385#

Cleans:

3x3 @ 205#

1500m Row

5:41

Very pleased with the back squat for two reasons. First, I was a little nervous going into it because of my disaster last day of 5/3/1 where I failed at 395#. Today I felt much stronger and each rep was consistently solid. Good form and good drive out of the hole. There is a new member to the Colleseum who I immediately friended after seeing him lift. He is a competitive power lifter and has given me some advice. He told me, since I have flexible shoulders, to grip the bar with as narrow of a grip that I can tolerate. This brings me to the second pleasing thing about this workout. I didn't want to try anything too drastic but I did move my hands in a finger width in order to try to keep my chest up and prevent my butt from rising too quickly. Even with just a finger width I noticed a tighter fuller chest. I look forward to working on this technique for further progress.

The cleans felt heavy because I was tired and because the only spot I was able to do them, due to over-crowdedness, was uneven and it was hard to get good footing.

The row was just tough enough. My iPod shut off about 500m into it causing me to row with 1 hand (with which I was able to maintain a poor 2:30 pace) for about 20 seconds. This obviously increased my total time. Regardless, without expending much more energy I was able to improve on my last 1500m.

New Program!

I started my new customized program on Friday. I was excited and after two days I am satisfied! Friday is volume squat day. For this program, I am using 90% of my max as my max. This way I progress at a slightly slower rate but I find that my comfort level under the weight progresses faster, get it!?


Friday


Back Squat:
5x5 @ 300#


Weighted Lunge:
1x10 (5 each leg) @ 95#
1x10 @ 115#
1x10 @ 135#


Conditioning:
3 rounds
10 burpees
15 KB swings at 55#


3:21


This workout was great. I really enjoyed the squats, challenging but not killer. This is what I want my volume days to feel like. Lots of work, tough weights but not so tough that my form breaks down. With the 5-3-1 Program, squats specifically, I found my form breaking down on some of the sets, I feel that the progression-to-volume was to high for my form to improve. My plan with this new program is to slow the progression down and work on being more comfortable under heavier weights


Saturday


In this new program I am continuing a new 16-week cycle of 5-3-1 with my bench press and deadlift. I found my progression steady in these lifts.


Bench Press:
1x5 @ 190#
1x5 @ 225#
1X6 @ 260#


Push Jerk:
1x3 @ 185#
1x1 @ 225#
1x1 @ 255# (PR)
1x1 @ 265# (had to press it out at the top but PR overhead)


Pull Ups
1x12 @ bodyweight
1x15 @ bodyweight
1x12 @ bodyweight


Great day, legs were starting to get sore. I felt strong and I had a lot of fun with the jerks. I was a little disappointed in the bench press but I will do better next time.

Weekend

Friday was de-load squat and saturday was de-load bench, the last of either for this 16-week session of 5/3/1. Lou and I de-load on our main lifts but not on our assistance exercises.


Friday


Backsquat
1x5 @ 225#
1x5 @ 255#
1x5 @ 285#


Assistance Exercises
Cleans
3x3 @ 185#


Step Ups
3x10 @ 95#


Saturday


Bench Press
1x5 @ 135#
1x5 @ 165#
1x5 @ 185#


Pull ups
1x9 @ 25#
1x10 @ 25#
1x10 @ 25#
1x4 @ 45#


Incline Barbell Bench
1x5 @ 135#
1x5 @ 185#
1x5 @ 225#


I can still tell that I am getting back into he swing of things since the illness I had a couple weeks ago. The cleans are felt heavy but I am not worried. The pull ups and incline bench on Saturday were great, exceeded expectations on the pull ups for sure. We had limited rest for the bench so it was nice to be able to bang out all the reps with no assistance. I felt strong on Saturday.

A Day Late

I was unable to post yesterday, this workout took place on Wednesday 3/16. It was my final day of 5/3/1! Excited to be done and start a new program!


Strict Press
1x5 @ 150#
1x3 @ 170#
1x2 @ 190#


Push Jerk
1x3 @ 155#
1x3 @ 185#
1x1 @ 205#
1x1 @ 225#
1x1 @ 250# (split jerk) (PR)


Dumbbell Rows
1x10 @ 80#
2x10 @ 90#


Well, the strict press is difficult. I definitely gained strength in the lift but it just feels really heavy. I know pressing of any kind is a weaker point of mine but I guess improvement is improvement. The push jerk was a lot of fun. I was just throwing weight on to see how high I felt comfortable going. 250# actually felt pretty easy and I think I can get 300+. I will try it in a couple weeks.


In conclusion to 5/3/1, I think it is a great program and I will be continuing to use it in my training. Our next competition is going to be the Raw Nationals in Scranton PA. It is August 19-21 and its basically the biggest Open Powerlifting Event of the year, I am super pumped. Unfortunately, the sickness that my roommates and I acquired prohibited us from finishing strong on this program, but there are always going to be speed bumps. I am looking forward to implementing my new customized program, coming to a gym near you on March 25, 2011.