Meet The Press

Today was strict press for 5/3/1. I got to be careful because I felt the very early signs of tendinitis in my right shoulder, nothing a little ice and ice shower (or bath) won't take care of!


Strict Press:
1x3 @ 130#
1x3 @ 150#
1x5 @ 165#


Assistance Work:


Push Ups
1x12 @ bodyweight
1x20 @ bodyweight
1x18 @ bodyweight


Dumbbell Rows
1x10 @ 80#
1x10 @ 90#
1x10 @ 100#


I think I should have been able to press 6 but I tried and could only get the bar a third of the way up. I was unsure how to go about the push ups so after my first set of 12 I decided to do 50. They were rather simple. The rows are good but the slight pain in my shoulder was a bit off-putting. I went home and took care of it, no pain today.

The Grateful Deadlift

Week two of the 5/3/1 Program. Unfortunately (for my training), my life outside of the gym is very busy and tiring right now. I am swamped at work (it looks like I will be coming in this weekend!) followed by clients after my day job. I am not complaining! I would much rather be busy and the fact that we are training people everyday is great. All I am saying, sometimes, by the time I can go to the gym for myself I feel like opening a beer and passing out. However, once I get in there, its on.


Assistance work


Backsquat
3x5 @ 225#


Deadlift
1x5* @ 350# (*it was supposed to be 3 reps)
1x3 @ 405#
1x3+1 @ 455#


Assistance work


GHD Sit ups
3x12 @ bodyweight


We decided to squat twice a week and I find that squatting light weight before my deadlift session is advantageous. We are going to make this a staple and probably increase the weight on a weekly basis. Although only 225#, I felt strong and the bar speed up was fast, similar to 135#. Deadlifts were tough, again, I was pretty tired when I arrived at the gym (around 7:45pm) so I knew I was going to have to work hard to get through this session, I don't mind working hard. On the final 3+ set of deadlifts I got 3 down and up. Stepped away, refocused and pulled one more. 


I am going to increase the amount of GHD sit ups every week. I don't want to over do it and leave myself too sore. I feel fine today so I can make a significant jump next week.

The Weekend

I was still feeling the effects of Tuesdays deadlift session, really feeling them. My back was sore. I started squatting and it kept getting tighter and tighter. I have actually never experienced a feeling like this before. I continued to stretch and at the least, I wanted to finish my squat session successfully.

Friday

Backsquat

1x5 @ 250#

1x5 @ 290#

1x5 @ 325#

Assistance Exercises:

*Did Not Attempt*

I was able to get 5 good reps with 325# and I probably could have got a sixth but I decided to play it safe. After I racked the weight I couldn't move! My back had tensed up to the point where walking was a challenge. I went over and grabbed a bar to do cleans with, yea, not happening, went over and grabbed a box to jump on, again, no chance. I struggled to pack up my bag and I left.

Saturday

My back started feeling much better as the day went on Friday. I went to a wedding and was able to tear up the dance floor with no pain or tightness but thats a different story. Once I returned on Saturday, Louis and I were excited for our first benching session of the 5/3/1 Program.

Bench Press

1x5 @ 176#

1x5 @ 196#

1x11 @ 226#

Assistance Exercises

Strict Pullups

1x10 @ bodyweight

1x11 @ bodyweight

1x12 @ bodyweight

Incline Bench Press

1x10 @ 135#

1x10 @ 155#

1x10 @ 165#

This session was fun and I am quite sore from it. I really enjoyed the strict pull ups. After my first week of the 5/3/1 Program I would say I am excited and satisfied. I will be making a couple tweaks to the programming (adding squats as an assistance exercise on Tuesdays so I can squat twice a week) and hopefully I wont be as thrashed in the future so I can complete all that is prescribed.

Deadlift from Competition