Lightweight's 5/3/1 PL Log

[lightweight0422]

Little background on myself:

I started lifting weights for football the summer before my freshman year. I was an offensive linemen so I took weights very seriously and got my squat up to 450 lbs at a bodyweight of 195 lbs. After high school I pretty much gave up weightlifting all together. As a result, my weight went down to around 160 lbs. In April of 2013, I started from scratch and got myself back in the gym lifting. I have been following an upper/lower split with a strong emphasis on the 3 big lifts (squat, bench, deadlift). Right now I'm sitting at a bodyweight of 175 lbs.

Current maxes:

Squat: 380
Bench: 245
Deadlift: 460

Goal:

I'm looking to compete in my first powerlifting meet this May. I'm not expecting to win or put up crazy numbers. More focused on having fun, meeting new people, and growing as a person. I've decided to start Wendler 5/3/1 since that system can easily be programed into my current split. I think I should have no problem putting up an 1100 lb total for the meet in May. Since I'm weighing 175 now, I'm planning to stay in a slight caloric surplus in hopes of competing in the 181 lb weight class. I track my macros pretty consistently so I'm confident I won't put on too much weight.

I'm starting 5/3/1 on Monday so I'm hoping to consistently post my numbers and maybe some videos to keep me in line. Follow along as a transition into powerlifter!!!

[lightweight0422]

First 5/3/1 workout

OHP: 5/5/5+
100X5
115X5
130X8

Flat Barbell Bench:
155X10
155X10
155X10
145X10
145X10

Pullups:
5X8 (bodyweight)

Barbell Skull Crusher:
75X10
75X10
75X10
75X10

Barbell Curl:
75X10
75X10
75X10
75X10

Face Pulls:
100X10
100X10
100X10
100X10

Barbell Shrugs:
135X15
135X15
135X15
135X15

Overall it was a pretty good workout. I was happy with getting 8 reps on my ARAMP set on OHP. 8 reps tells me that I accurately calculated my training max. Haven't done pullups for a long time so I stuck with just bodyweight today but I'll eventually add weight. I'm probably going to get bashed on all the accessory movements I do, but I like having a wide variety of accessories.

My macros will look something like this for a while:

Protein: 200 grams
Carbs: 400-420 grams
Fat: 70-75 grams

I've been following these macros for over a month and have pretty much maintained my weight. Might bump carbs up if my weight remains the same moving forward. My goal is to gain about a pound a month right now. Anything more than that will result in more fat gain than I'm comfortable with.

[JamesW129]

Wizard. I just started my own 531 journal

You are pretty strong man!

That seems like a lot of volume for 531?

[lightweight0422]

Wizard. I just started my own 531 journal

You are pretty strong man!

That seems like a lot of volume for 531?

Thanks man. I'll be sure to check out your log! Yeah it's a decent amount of volume. I'm following the BBB (boring but big) template that is outlined here http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...onth_challenge. I've bought Wendler's eBook and have read it front to back as well. My squat and deadlift days will have fewer sets than my upper body days.

[lightweight0422]

Deadlift: 5/5/5+
275X5
315X5
355X10

Squat:
225X10
225X10
225X10
225X10
225X10

Leg Extension: 3X15
Cable Crunch: 3X15
Seated Calf Raise: 3X15

Another good workout. I might have under estimated my training max for deadlifts being I got 10 reps, but Wendler says its much better to under estimate than over estimate. I was happy with 5X10 at 225 lbs for squats. The accessory movements at the end of the workout didn't take me long to complete.

Here's a clip of my second set of deadlifts (315X5). Just checking my form. After that is one of my sets of squats (225X10):

[lightweight0422]

1/9/14 workout:

Bench: 5/5/5+
145X5
165X5
185X8

Chin Ups: 5X8

OHP:
115X10
115X10
115X10
105X10
105X10

Tricep Pushdowns: 4X10

DB Curls: 4X10

DB Shrugs: 4X10

Face Pulls: 4X10

Good workout. Bench is a serious weak point of mine and needs a ton of work. Hopefully I can really progress this year.

Todays workout:

Squat: 5/5/5+
225X5
255X5
295X12

Deadlift:
275X10
255X10
245X10
235X10
235X10

Leg Curl: 4X10

Machine Crunch: 4X10

Calf Raise: 4X10

Felt really strong on squats today. 295X12 is a rep PR for me. I might end up bumping my training max on squats because 12 reps is pretty high for this program. We'll see how next week going before I make any adjustments.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

strong programming man.. i like that you keep in hypertrophy exercises while training for powerlifting, no doubt it'll help.

[lightweight0422]

I'm a couple weeks behind in updating, but I'll summarize my last two weeks of Cycle One of 5/3/1. I decided that I'm going to hit heavy singles on my 3/3/3+ weeks for deadlift, squat, and bench.

1/13/14
OHP:
105X3
120X3
135X8

Bench: 5X8 @ 155

Pullups: 5X8

1/14/14
Deadlift:
295X3
335X3
375X3
415X1
415X1
415X1

Squat: 5X10 @ 225

1/16/14

Bench:
155X3
175X3
200X3
220X1
220X1
220X1

Chins: 5X8

OHP:
115X8
115X8
110X8
110X8
105X8

1/17/14

Squat:
245X3
275X3
305X3
340X1
340X1
340X1

Deadlift: 5X8 @ 275

[lightweight0422]

1/20/14
OHP:
115X5
130X3
145X4

Bench:
160X8
160X8
155X8
155X8
155X8

Pullups: 5X8

1/21/14
Deadlift:
315X5
355X3
295X4

Squat: 5X8 @ 235

1/23/14
Bench:
165X5
185X3
210X3 (not sure what happened here-was expecting more)

OHP: 5X8 @ 115

Chins: 5X8

1/24/14
Squat:
255X5
295X3
325X8 (killed it tonight-huge PR!)

Deadlift: 5X9 @ 275

[Bronzzi]

Keep updating man! Keen to see your progress with 5/3/1!

[boxteross]

Keep updating man! Keen to see your progress with 5/3/1!

Agreed! ^^