Time and Consistency Under the Bar: One Straight Year of 5/3/1

[mirroroferised]

Not tracking for a couple of days. We have a huge family gathering today with a ton of bbq and I can't be bothered in the least to care about cals or macros today. Tomorrow and Tuesday we'll be at the trailer and I won't track there but cals will be at least reasonable. Back in proper form on Wednesday.

Squats later today.

Nice BP day Dave....I say it was 10....if you didn't touch your chest on rep 2 you didn't miss it by more than a inch....keep it up...nice food porn

Thanks Ron. It was close. Okay, fine I'll count it

Huge work today Dave! No doubt the plus set fried you for the 185. Kick azz work on the goblets, such a great exercise. So much work in there, midnight chow for the win!!

Yeah man, I love goblets. Legs were just wobbly after them. I'm going to make them a regular part of the routine I think.

You seem to have a lot of movement through your hips and legs when benching, like your not quite tight enough through your whole body, might help with the 185 next time

Sen, don't get me started Funny enough that was one of the better sessions lately in terms of staying tight. I'm still really struggling with it. My leg drive is feeling a lot better lately but staying tight, especially for higher reps, is proving to still be a challenge.

That food looks YUMMY!

Thanks Vic.

That's a really solid looking 3+ day on bench.

Food looked pretty good too

Thanks man. Was really happy with that session.

[DocJekyll]

Nice bench day there Dave. Enjoy the BBQ - some days just have to be like this! Good for the mind.

[mirroroferised]

I ate a silly amount of food today. I mean downright disgusting amount of cals. Father in law called me fat If I ever wake up I'll get my squats in. Stupid family get together's

Nice bench day there Dave. Enjoy the BBQ - some days just have to be like this! Good for the mind.

Thanks Doc!

[raynerd]

You know you are killing your cut when your father in law calls you fat

[mirroroferised]

531
Cycle 1 l Week 2
Weight: A lot

Warm-Up

A table full of food.

Squats

5 × 100 [25,2.5]
5 × 120 [35,2.5]
3 × 145 [45,5]
3 × 170 [45,10,5,2.5]
3 × 195 [45,25,5]
3+ × 215 [45,35,5] - 8 meh some okay - vid

***My daughter was watching a dance show in the other room Apparently youtube is blocking this vid in some countries lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHx_eUA82cE


I wanted moar than 8. Felt I was losing focus though so racked it.

Eta it's a miracle I'm still able to use the fourth hole on my belt lol I thought back to 3 for sure today.

BBB Pyramid Down

10 × 180 [45,10,5,5,2.5] - vid
10 × 180 [45,10,5,5,2.5]
10 × 160 [45,10,2.5] - pause
10 × 140 [45,2.5] - pause
10 × 140 [45,2.5] - pause

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tffcDRvFQNg


Plate loaded leg ext

10 x 75
10 x 75
10 x 75
10 x 100

RDL

8 x 135
8 x 135
8 x 135
8 x 135

Got a nice quad pump from the leg ext and my hams are on fire from the the rdl's. Pretty decent session in terms of moving some weight. That 215 felt like nothing on my back. Really, really light but depth just still isn't quite there. I'm going to stop obsessing about it and just deal with it being what it is. Not sure what else I can do at this point. Had my wife watch my last pause set with 140 and she said I was just hitting parallel and below on a couple. Zero flexibility crew

[mirroroferised]

You know you are killing your cut when your father in law calls you fat

lol I hear that


I told my wife she needed to eat more she was skin and bones (kind of an inside joke with her mom who's always obsessing about my wife's weight cuz she's naturally quite small) and he shot back with you could be a little moar skin and bones or something like that lol it was pretty funny.


Food tonight was crazy good.

[raynerd]

Lol my in laws were at the lake this weekend and I ate like a fatazz with them as well

Huge squat volume today Dave, the 215 looked real light for you. Nice finish with the extensions and RDL's!

[RT1957]

Big leg day...reps looked very good....

[viccles007]

Some seriously awesome squat volume Dave. Looked pretty awesome to me too. YES to eating ALL the yummy foods!

[shaneinga]

Nice squats Dave. You are not the only one who ate like it was their last weekend on earth this weekend. Hopefully it translates to the gym for me today.

Lots of volume in that session!

[Flounderbout]

OK, so this is the point IMHO that you need to beware of depth Nazis. Which includes you - don't become a depth Nazi yourself and start obsessing over it. There is nothing wrong with your depth. Some reps are parallel, some reps are a tiny mite above parallel. But we are talking tiny margins. They are all near enough.
My vote is just stop worrying about it. Load up the bar. Squat. Keep an eye on depth just to make sure you don't start stopping inches short, but anything there or thereabouts is completely fine. I spent far too long obsessing about an inch in my squats, and only moved on once i stopped worrying about it. I rarely have depth concerns these days.

[mirroroferised]

Lol my in laws were at the lake this weekend and I ate like a fatazz with them as well

Huge squat volume today Dave, the 215 looked real light for you. Nice finish with the extensions and RDL's!

Thanks Shawn, legs are feeling it this morning.

Big leg day...reps looked very good....

Thanks Ron.

Some seriously awesome squat volume Dave. Looked pretty awesome to me too. YES to eating ALL the yummy foods!

Ha it was a great meal with 2 different cakes to finish it all off. I miss it already

Nice squats Dave. You are not the only one who ate like it was their last weekend on earth this weekend. Hopefully it translates to the gym for me today.

Lots of volume in that session!

It should Shane. Hope you have a good one today.

OK, so this is the point IMHO that you need to beware of depth Nazis. Which includes you - don't become a depth Nazi yourself and start obsessing over it. There is nothing wrong with your depth. Some reps are parallel, some reps are a tiny mite above parallel. But we are talking tiny margins. They are all near enough.
My vote is just stop worrying about it. Load up the bar. Squat. Keep an eye on depth just to make sure you don't start stopping inches short, but anything there or thereabouts is completely fine. I spent far too long obsessing about an inch in my squats, and only moved on once i stopped worrying about it. I rarely have depth concerns these days.

I'm really trying to tell myself this lately. I'm driving myself crazy with it lately, checking each rep right after the set and beating myself up if they're not perfect. I'll stop obsessing so much. You're right, I'm having a hell of a time moving forward with them right now.







Off to the trailer for the night. No weights or worrying about depth/form today, just out in the canoe and hopefully a good fire tonight.

[fittofattofit]

Buckled to the peer pressure:



Nothing better for my self esteem than to follow up John's pic with my own

Living the dream Dave ... John and Tim may have set a standard but you've got a nice slab of meat on your quads now!
Huge volume on that squat session today and I'm with Flounder ... don't beat yourself over the head about your depth ... you are at or close to parallel and you maintain very strong and consistent form. It's great that repping 215 for 8 felt light

Also your benching looked good to me ... your 185 reps looked the way my 160 reps do, and you got 10 reps out at that weight

[Jtbny]

OK, so this is the point IMHO that you need to beware of depth Nazis. Which includes you - don't become a depth Nazi yourself and start obsessing over it. There is nothing wrong with your depth. Some reps are parallel, some reps are a tiny mite above parallel. But we are talking tiny margins. They are all near enough.
My vote is just stop worrying about it. Load up the bar. Squat. Keep an eye on depth just to make sure you don't start stopping inches short, but anything there or thereabouts is completely fine. I spent far too long obsessing about an inch in my squats, and only moved on once i stopped worrying about it. I rarely have depth concerns these days.

[mirroroferised]

Living the dream Dave ... John and Tim may have set a standard but you've got a nice slab of meat on your quads now!
Huge volume on that squat session today and I'm with Flounder ... don't beat yourself over the head about your depth ... you are at or close to parallel and you maintain very strong and consistent form. It's great that repping 215 for 8 felt light

Also your benching looked good to me ... your 185 reps looked the way my 160 reps do, and you got 10 reps out at that weight

Thanks Andrew. I'll work on the self doubt part. Tough though. I was really happy with how light that bar felt though.

Okay okay point taken

[Plateauplower]

Nice work, agree depth is close enough. It's not like your doing knee bends. Enjoy the lake, I love being out on a canoe or small paddle boat, nice and simple...I'm hoping the weather allows me some time on the water later this week.

[Flounderbout]

OK, if one more of you posts about being on some fecking beautiful lake in a canoe while I sit here in my stuffy London office...

[bradandblake]

Squats look good to me. Activating hips, glutes, and hamstrings. That's what you want.

Your ankle flexibility sucks, just like mine. Just wear powerlifting shoes or put a plate under your heals. Either way you are putting in great work...

[DocJekyll]

^^ this. Why be repetitive?

[NorwichGrad]

Dave. I agree with the sexy Englishman with the hot James Bond accent regarding depth. If you were competing in an IPF meet, you'd be white lighted. Meaning good to go.

The depth thing mess was indirectly started by weightlifters. Many of us try to squat ATG because we want carryover to the cleans and snatch. But for PL and for general strength development, ATG is NOT needed. In fact, my own coach doesn't care if I don't ATG as long as I get stronger in the squats.

Moreover, the Internet commandos who preach ATG don't even squat. Keep doing what you're doing.

[raynerd]

Have a great time at the lake Dave! I suggest putting a 9.9hp outboard on the back of that canoe for some real fun!

[MooseTequila]

Nice looking squats Dave, kept a strong straight path with the bar... maybe you can join me in my fast today since you ate so well (Misery loves company )

[mirroroferised]

Still fighting some crazy doms from that BBB session plus the bed at our trailer always makes my back scream to me. That being said I did sleep about 10 hours Tight and sore but nothing that some ohp won't solve in a bit.

Nice work, agree depth is close enough. It's not like your doing knee bends. Enjoy the lake, I love being out on a canoe or small paddle boat, nice and simple...I'm hoping the weather allows me some time on the water later this week.

Thanks Tim. It was a great time. We have a very strong current up there so canoeing is always a huge workout. Had a blast.

OK, if one more of you posts about being on some fecking beautiful lake in a canoe while I sit here in my stuffy London office... :happy:

Protz on the camp fire just for you

Squats look good to me. Activating hips, glutes, and hamstrings. That's what you want.

Your ankle flexibility sucks, just like mine. Just wear powerlifting shoes or put a plate under your heals. Either way you are putting in great work...

Thanks for taking a look man. Yeah that's really about as low as I go. Thought about trying a plate under the heels once upon a time but envisioned myself tripping over it and never did it lol

^^ this. Why be repetitive?

Thanks Doc.

Dave. I agree with the sexy Englishman with the hot James Bond accent regarding depth. If you were competing in an IPF meet, you'd be white lighted. Meaning good to go.

The depth thing mess was indirectly started by weightlifters. Many of us try to squat ATG because we want carryover to the cleans and snatch. But for PL and for general strength development, ATG is NOT needed. In fact, my own coach doesn't care if I don't ATG as long as I get stronger in the squats.

Moreover, the Internet commandos who preach ATG don't even squat. Keep doing what you're doing.

Appreciate it Joel, thanks. I've been more obsessing about just hitting parallel and not stopping to high like I was when I was piling the weight on the bar. Clearly I'm doing okay so I'm gonna just shut up about it and keep on going

Have a great time at the lake Dave! I suggest putting a 9.9hp outboard on the back of that canoe for some real fun!

I've been thinking about this for awhile. We're quite shallow on the river but it would be a lot of fun if I could make it work. The current is brutal there. Took us 20 minutes to go in one direction and 2 minutes to get back lol

Nice looking squats Dave, kept a strong straight path with the bar... maybe you can join me in my fast today since you ate so well (Misery loves company )

Diet was kept in check and was under cals for the day. Not fasting like you since there were a few cookies and marshmellows involved but cals were low. Macros were way off too. Back on track tomorrow

[mirroroferised]

A lot to think about this session. Joel's absorbing the weight vid from last week, Rippetoe's vid that Robert posted about grip and "slingshotting" the weight up as well as Rippetoe's other vids that I watched on benching, squatting etc. Over all this wasn't a great session. Moved some weight for sure but all the foam rolling, stretching and light movements beforehand wasn't loosening me up.

531
Cycle 1 l Week 3

Warm-Up

BB Complex of Rows, Cleans, Fronts, Press
Moar very light Front Squats
Stretching
Foam Rolling
Shoulder Dislocations

Press

5 × 50 [2.5]
5 × 65 [10]
3 × 75 [10,5]
5 × 95 [25]
3 × 105 [25,5]
1+ × 120 [35,2.5] - Got 3, reset and got 3 more

Not great today. I know I can get 6 or 7 at this weight if not a couple more. Putting it down to tightness. Absorbing the weight went very well I think but the grip tricks and trying to slingshot the weight up felt really awkward. Not doubting Rippetoe but something I definitely need to work at with a lighter weight at first. Felt really out of place doing them that way.

BBB Bench

Did a bunch of sets with 5 reps working up to 155 lbs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T9U...o-0lA_kBIT71At


Watched the bench vid and played around with the cue's in that. Grip placement made a lot of sense and felt great for me. Picking a spot on the ceiling and pushing the weight to it and keeping the bar level I'm still struggling with. Did better keeping my shoulders driven down, chest up and pushing my arch up with my legs. Overall not too bad for practicing bench as opposed to BBB.

Called it here. I'll get the accessories in at some point during the week. No vid today. Nothing really interesting or watch worthy. Bench mildly improved I think and 120 felt like I was lifting my house. I did nearly fling myself face first into my rack on my first set with 120 but I'll keep the blooper reel for myself

Off to watch the Jays hopefully kick the living sh!t out of the Sox.....ETA

[raynerd]

Nice workout Dave! I was thinking about trying that little hip swing on OHP from the Rip video as well. I pictured it awkward as faak though, and I think you confirmed that lol. Did the absorb the decent cue work well? I can see that being a big benefit, but I guess I won't know until I try it out.
Sounds like the bench is moving forward with the form cues, going to be tight as a board on that bench soon! Awesome work!

[mirroroferised]

Nice workout Dave! I was thinking about trying that little hip swing on OHP from the Rip video as well. I pictured it awkward as faak though, and I think you confirmed that lol. Did the absorb the decent cue work well? I can see that being a big benefit, but I guess I won't know until I try it out.
Sounds like the bench is moving forward with the form cues, going to be tight as a board on that bench soon! Awesome work!

It was really strange feeling and didn't do me any favours tonight that's for sure. The absorbing cue worked well but trying to couple that with the swing or whatever made the entire process a bit of a mess. Think I'll work on just the absorbing for awhile until that is ingrained and then try to add in the swing. Good session overall though,


Oh and I did my accessory work while watching the Jays get beat by the Sox

[shaneinga]

Nice work out Dave. Rip has some great video's and I own the starting strength book. Ton's of great info in it and he covers a lot of it in his videos as well. I think to get the press right you almost have to strip down everything you know about it, start back at the bar and work on form from there. I plan on doing this at some point, I might do it the month before I start 531. There are a lot of cues that are easy to put together, the motion with the snap back before the push is probably the hardest to get right. At least it was when I started trying it awhile ago. Well, that and not knocking yourself out with the the bar.

Get yourself a hot girl in a bikini poster and put it on the ceiling, push the bar towards the boobs man.

[DocJekyll]

I know them feels Dave, tightness is a bitch. Still looked like a productive session even though you weren't 100% happy with it. Way to get after the accessories later at home. Productive!

I find working on too many tweaks at once to be counterproductive as well.

[SteveWright1]

Nice work with 2 triples at 120 on OHP Dave
whilst using that time to consider form revisions etc - never easy to immediately benefit from any form or technique tweaks
so 6 reps in total is great effort under those circumstances

[RT1957]

Good work done......muscles worked hard.....progress will be made.....