5/3/1 log with Clear Muscle (no affiliation w/ company)

[cirion0000]

Well, since I have money to burn, and I'm always up for taking a risk if the potential reward is high enough, I ordered some clear muscle and felt in the mood to start my very first log. Idk if there are any official "rules" to logs lol but I'll do what makes sense to me.

Current supplements is just some ON whey, creatine, and sometimes a preworkout (Mr. Hyde right now), fish oil, and multivitamins. Nothing super fancy for the most part.

Just as a baseline, here are my approximate stats.

~179-180 lb (haven't updated profile weight), 13% BF.
6 ft (I think it might say 5 10 which is wrong, I 'gained height' after I fixed alot of my postural problems from hunching at a computer all day)
Calorie intake - ~3500 a day (bulking) . Might actually be too much and I'll adjust as I see necessary. I ballooned up fast (mostly water) after a cut at this rate but I think it has kinda stabilized now so I might be okay.
Here's the real interesting bit: I eat keto. It's necessary because I jacked up my insulin sensitivity from eating ultra high carb. I try to stay under 50g carb and under 200g protein, and rest fat grams. I'm a more liberal ketoer, many ketoers swear by under 25g carbs and under 100g protein, but I think as long as 65-75% of my calories come from fat should be good to go. Besides, I have found that being more liberal lets me retain glycogen better.

~ means approximate have not tested a true 1rm in a while

Bench max: ~215 lb
Squat max: ~265 lb
Deadlift max: ~340 lb (I train sumo)
Overhead press: ~145 lb

I lifted tonight but not with clear muscle yet. It will be in next week. I follow a 3 day 5/3/1 split currently. I am considering moving up to 4 day if clear muscle really is all it is cracked up to be. I do hate how long a 531 cycle is with only 3 days. Plus I feel like I'm lazy only lifting 3x a week lol.

Tonight:

Deadlift
130x5
160x5
195x3
225x3
260x3
290x5 (PR!)
160x10
160x10
160x10
160x10
160x10

GHR (ghetto free style using smith machine and bench + squat pads to protect legs)
3x10 BW

Reverse Hypers
5 sets AMRAP

DB rows
.... Don't laugh .... 30 lb (one arm) x20 ramped down over 5 sets .... yes my upper back sucks (working on it lol)

Calf raises
170 lb per leg 2x10

I was pretty wasted after the deadlifts but that's okay because I hit a decent PR.

[druss757]

Really enjoy the different variations of 5/3/1, nice lifts.

[cirion0000]

Thanks man, but I am just a weak girl until I hit at least 315 bench, 405 squat and 495 deadlift. My goal is to bulk on 531 until I hit at least these numbers (before consider a cut assuming I am alot fatter by then if not I'll keep going). I'm also only 50% on the boring but bit lifts, I am going to increase 5% per cycle until I'm hitting 60% for 5x10 (the highest Wendler suggests) and really dial in the intensity. When I started last month I could only do 40% lol the 5x10 is no joke. I am cautiously optimistic about clear muscle. A million supplements have claimed superior results but with being disappointing at best. I didn't read the studies in detail but they did sound promising. If they even help me 25% as much as it claims to though I'll be happy to take the boost to my goals quicker

[cirion0000]

Clear muscle arrives tomorrow. Pumped (pun partially intended) and ready for the gains. Plus tomorrow is bench day. Time to put it to the test. My lower back had extreme DOMS this weekend which wasn't surprising since my DL PR was about 20 lb above previous best. I got a little overambitious, but I felt good, felt like doing it, and so I did it. I'm not gonna try another 20 lb PR next time lol

I have noticed being better about taking my multis, greens, and fish oil has done wonders for my body too. Time to take all these every day without fail from now on.

[cirion0000]

Well I popped my first two clear muscle pills before hitting the weights tonight. I don't know if it's a placebo, but I frikkin activated HULK MODE tonight. Hit a huge bench PR amongst other things. Even if it's just a placebo, I'll take it, haha

Bench (3+ WEEK)
80 x5
100 x5
120 x3
140 x3
160 x3
180 x8 (huge PR!!!! I was only planning to hit 6, I still felt like a boss so I decided to do two more and probably could have hit 10 even but didn't want to totally destroy my body haha)
100 x10
100 x10
100 x10
100 x10
100 x10

SUPINATED CHINS
BW x (10 set of 6)

DB ROW (OMG straps literally doubled my one arm DB row, maybe it's "cheating" but I don't frikkin care, double weight used is double weight used so I set huge PR here too)
60 lb (per arm) x (5x10)

Because I still felt amazing after all these PR I decided for fun..

DB Row
70 lb x 1x5 (per arm)

Then for giggles I finished with a few "who cares what rep/weight" of face row, rear flyes, and side raises. Left the gym way stronger than I was going on. Did I mention I love 5/3/1? And Mr. Hyde preworkout too? Lol Mr. Hyde is the frikin bomb felt some intense drive today.

[cirion0000]

Just woke up super freakin hungry. Must be doing something right. Going to have to go ahead and break my normal macros at the risk of gaining a little fat and listen to my body and eat more than normal at least today because it needs to grow!!! #feelsgoodman

[cirion0000]

Today is squat day. It will be the first time I've done BBB with back squat (I was doing front squats before until someone suggested back squats would get me more bang for my buck). My plan is to get 6 reps of 225 lb, which will be a PR. But if monday's bench day was any indication, I may go for 8 reps... we'll see. If I can manage 8 I'll be sooo close to a 3 plate 1 rep max... I'm freakin sore as a mofo from monday. Which is a good thing. I never got this severe back soreness from DB rows... which means the straps was definitely the way to go. Heavier = more overload. Straps are definitely amazing used right. I also use them on my maximal DL sets (but I try to go strapless for the other sets, including BBB)

[cirion0000]

RATATOSK MODE ACTIVATED.... okay lame tales of symphonia reference. I just had to though.

Anyway, EIGHT REPS OF 225 BABY. YEAHHH. Feeling on top of the world. Not just a PR, but an ALL TIME PR for me, even before injuring my lower back. Best of all, my lower back still feels great.

Interestingly enough, the top set of 225x8 was way easier than the boring but big. OMG I HATE BBB SQUATS. HATE. I almost gave up on the last 2 or 3 sets had to opt for a long rest for the last 2. Was my first time doing BBB back squat so probably not surprising. But still. Hate.

Also OMG 5 lb DB's make GHR soooo much harder than simply BW. The last set was a huge grinder. But I made it. Thank God I don't have to do lower body again until deads on Monday. I have a feeling my legs are going to yell at me... time to stretch and foam roll like a mofo. And of course eat.

Full workout:

CYCLE 2 SQUAT DAY (3+)
*LBS
100x5
125x5
150x3
175x3
200x3
225x8 PR
125x10
125x10
125x10
125x10
125x10

GHR 5 LB DB each arm freestyle using smith 3x10
Reverse hyper BW (x25,x20, x15, x10, x10)
Half body leg raise (lower torso hanging from a bench) BW 3x10

One token set of calf raises and adductor machines (to do a bit of dynamic hip stretching mostly)

Left leg feels a little tweaked, I think it's because I recently put in a heel raise in my right shoe (per chiropractic orders because my right leg is shorter than my left by 5mm doesn't sound like much but you can F up your spine big time on deads and squat with an imbalance) and left side of hip not adjusted yet. Luckily no legs for 5 more days gives it plenty of time to heal/recover etc.

[druss757]

Nice workout, and yeah the second exercise in BBB is really taxing, especially when you get past 50%. Definitely make sure your calories are up during this!

[cirion0000]

Nice workout, and yeah the second exercise in BBB is really taxing, especially when you get past 50%. Definitely make sure your calories are up during this!

Yeah I was reading stuff from Jim that says not to exceed 50% if you're always pushing the last 5/3/1 set (only go higher aka the 3 month challenge if you don't push the 5/3/1 set), so I think I'm keeping it at 50%. My gains the last few weeks have been incredible with just 50%, so I don't see much of a need to exceed this.

Idk if my programming and nutrition is better, but ever since I've started clear muscle I have hit some unheard of PR's (for me at least). In any case, I'm almost definitely going to keep taking it because I don't wanna risk stopping the PR train haha

I am also taking a monstrous amount of fish oil (2 TBSP of STRAIGHT unflavored fish oil a day in a shot glass = a whopping 6000MG of DHA/EPA) , and 100% on point on vitamins (multis, vitamin D, glucasamine, everything)

[cirion0000]

Cycle 2 (1+ DAY) MILITARY

55x5
65x5
80x3
95x5
110x3
120x7 PR
65x10
65x10
65x10
65x10
65x10

Wide stance (Pronated) Pull-Ups
BW 10x6

1 Arm DB Rows (w/ straps)
65x(5x10)

Partial dragon flag attempts (only lower half of body)
3x fail

Two light sets of face pull and reverse flyes

7th OHP rep was a huge grinder so I ditched my 8th rep attempt. Still a PR is a PR. I'll take it!

[cirion0000]

Cycle 2 (1+ DAY) DEADLIFT
LBS

I killed today's training day, but it also killed me. For starters, I stopped doing touch and go. I do dead stop now. AND I still set a PR. I literally almost passed out on the 3rd and 4th rep, and being the insane mofo I am, I tried a fifth rep, managed to break the floor, but met against absolute failure gave up and dropped it lol. My CNS was so fried after that I had to take 3-4 minute breaks between each BBB set afterwards and by time I got to GHR and reverse hypers I wanted to die. Time to go stretch and foam roll for like 30 mins... otherwise I will be a cripple for a couple of days............

135x5
160x5
195x3
240x5
275x3
305x4(PR)
160x10
160x10
160x10
160x10
160x10

GHR with 5 lb DB's 3x10
Reverse Hyper (15,10,10,10,10) BW

[cirion0000]

Cycle 2 (1+ DAY) BENCH PRESS

The PR train continues!!! Though the seventh rep was a huge grinder. But I made it. My shoulder aches now, it's a good thing the deload is coming up soon. I need it. Though I'm tempted to skip the deload, jump straight into cycle 3, and just do the prescribed (5) reps without pushing it because I feel like a complete deload wastes time. We'll see. Only one more 1+ day to get through in this cycle.

Bench Press (FLAT)
LBS
80x5
100x5
120x3
150x5
170x3
190x7(PR)
100x10
100x10
100x10
100x10
100x10

Chin ups (close grip supinated)
BW x (10x7)
&&
BW X (6x5) - I did these extra sets to make sure I hit 100 reps. It's the first time I've done 100 reps in one session finally. So this is a PR of sorts too.
"Kroc" Rows
70 lb x 3x10
I finally was reaching failure by this point so I couldn't get the last two sets so I finished with 2 more sets of 5 after the 3 sets of 10. Since I failed, I will have to reset my DB row weights next time around. No sense pushing against a wall.


I can tell my upper body strength has gone up enormously in just one cycle. The Boring but big sets were alot easier this time around than they were before.

[cirion0000]

My shoulders and left leg are in somewhat bad shape after the intense PR's I've recently set. So I've started doing a lot of foam rolling, and self massage with lacrosse ball to release all the tight knots. I also got a standing desk setup at work now so I don't have to sit all day. Today is supposed to be a squat day, but I'm toying with the idea of either pushing it till tomorrow since my left hip still sort of aches, or just doing the prescribed single rep today and not try for a PR. I am going to go ahead and do the deload next week too. Rather take my time than to hurt myself. My squat has gone up 20 lb in one cycle, so even if I don't set a PR tonight that's still great progress.

My goals are:
225 OHP 315 bench 405 squat and 495 deadlift
By this time next year or sooner. Even if I only do the minimum 5 lb bench/OHP and 10 lb squat/deadlift increase per cycle, I should get there or at least be darn close. Either way, I'll be significantly stronger than I was. I'm at about:
150 OHP 235 bench 285 squat 350 deadlift now

So actually, it looks like bench may be the first thing that I achieve. A year to get 80 lb on bench should be easy.

[cirion0000]

Like a trooper, I decided to put off squats until today so I could go balls deep into it, and it paid off. Another PR baby. Finished cycle 2 with a grand finale...

My everything aches so bad, so after setting all these PR's, I don't feel bad about doing a full deload next week. No assistances, no cardio, only the prescribed 3 sets of 5 at low weights of each of the main lifts and then shutting them down. I need to heal and grow from all the beating up I've done to my body this cycle so I can hit cycle 3 going all in once again.

CYCLE 2 SQUAT DAY (1+)

Set Weight(lb) Reps
1 100 5
2 125 5
3 150 3
4 185 5
5 210 3
6 235 7 PR
7-11 125 10

Did some GHR and reverse hyper to failure, didn't do very well, but I kinda figured as much since the squats earlier I went as hard as I could on.

3 sets of failure of GHR and 5 set of failure for the hypers.

GHR is starting to bother either my shins or my knees.... anyone got a good set up that I can use (other than a GHR machine itself) that doesn't dig your shins into the bench or your knees?

[cirion0000]

Cycle 2 DELOAD DAY #1
lbs

Deadlift
135x5
165x5
195x5

OHP
50x5
60x5
80x5 (used DB's so 25's, 30's, and 40's because all the racks were taken)

Also did 5 chin ups between each OHP set so a total of 3x5.

Nice and easy. Though my left hip started to act up during the DL's. It was a blessing in disguise though, because I found a trigger point in my hip that made the pain all but go away. Now if the hip pain ever crops up I know how to get rid of it immediately =)

Also, weight was up to 185 lb this morning which is insane, since I'm barely eating at a surplus (~3500 calories a day). And my six pack is still very faintly visible even despite all this, which leads me to believe it's mostly muscle gain. I believe it, with the numbers I've managed to pull/push lately. This cycle has definitely made me a believer in 531. Next cycle I'm going to go up to 4 days a week so I can progress even faster and see how that goes. I wanted to start with 3 days to get used to the higher volume work and I think I'm almost there, so it's time for 4 days.

[cirion0000]

Just to satisfy my curiosity I found this article

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._you_lift_wimp

Which gives a rough estimate on what you "should" be lifting. After some analysis I found that, interestingly enough, I am bicep and tricep deficient. I do feel like my arms are a bit tiny. So I'm gonna start adding this work in on upper body days (nothing too crazy, probably 3 working sets of curls and triceps of a single exercise but will be doing progressive overload here like everything else).

According to this I should be doing at least 105 lb strict barbell curl or as high as 126 (!!!!!) holy crap. Yeah I gotta work on that. Lol.... I can't even do close to 105 strict let alone 126.

[musclehead09]

Subbed! Nice PRs man. Nice benching especially. As for the 50% you gotta think about this. You're going off a training max. 90% of your real max times 50% is what you're using so ur using less than 50% actually.

right now it's challenging so great def stick to it then. Once it gets really easy (it will eventually even with upping the training max each cycle) start upping the % or reps. My friend used 50-55% of his real max. It's all relative to how it feels. No matter what push that 5/3/1 set though.

[cirion0000]

Subbed! Nice PRs man. Nice benching especially. As for the 50% you gotta think about this. You're going off a training max. 90% of your real max times 50% is what you're using so ur using less than 50% actually.

right now it's challenging so great def stick to it then. Once it gets really easy (it will eventually even with upping the training max each cycle) start upping the % or reps. My friend used 50-55% of his real max. It's all relative to how it feels. No matter what push that 5/3/1 set though.

Welcome aboard bro =) Best of luck to us both in hitting each our goals (and more!) Yeah I was doing really really low volume before, and the first cycle or two has just been my body adjusting to tons of reps. I started at only 40%, now 50%, but 50% is still pretty hard so far.

[cirion0000]

Cycle 2 DELOAD DAY #2
lbs

Bench Press
80x5
100x5
120x5

Also did 5 chin ups between each bench set so a total of 3x5.

Just to get a few more pulls in also did 1 set of face pulls, lat raises, and reverse flyes. In and out in like 15 min. Felt like a waste of time, but I have to remember I am training for more than just today. NOTE: i guess I lied about no assistance lol but I didn't go hard on them, just did light sets for blood flow purposes mainly

I did a bunch more self release in my hips, happy to report that many of my tight glute muscles are no longer tight. Persistence pays off. My arms are a little better now, neck aches slightly I think mostly from bad work posture.

I'm ordering epsom salt and gonna start taking baths with it after each training session from now on, after hearing the benefits of it. Also I got a EMS massage unit (my chiro uses it on me sometimes) I've noticed this can be great for relieving muscle aches too, so I will also probably be using this after intense sessions or whenever I feel like I need it. Faster recovery = more gains =)

[Muzzlrpress]

I am excite

[cirion0000]

I am excite

Haha. Glad to have you

[cirion0000]

Meh. Waste of time. Did get to try out my new shoes though. I just went in and dive bombed all my reps really quickly lol. I felt really strong, which means the deload has done its job - recovered me. I bet I could have hit 300 squat today if I had wanted to. 150 lb felt light as paper. Ready to smash new PR's next week (next cycle)

Cycle 2 Deload Day (Squat)
100 lb x 5
125 lb x 5
150 lb x5

That's it. Felt so freakin lazy. Haha.

Also. New shoes! Romaeleos 2 =)

[cirion0000]

Going to start taking videos of my maximum effort sets from now on. Cycle 3 begins Monday.

I am 99% sure my form is horrible on everything so I am going to need help correcting my form. Please be as harsh as you can, as I need to get better =)

[cirion0000]

VIDEO forthcoming once I stop being a failure at technology and figure out how to get my video from my iphone to youtube and then embed here
Until then, here's my latest session.

CYCLE 3 DAY 1 (Squat 5+)
LBS

105x5
130x5
155x3
170x5
195x5
220x10 PR - Felt great!! Only the last rep or two was hard (you can tell I'm shaking in the video lol)
BBB sets = FML
130x10
130x10
130x10
130x10
130x10

50% BBB sets still kick me in the balls after maxing out. I think 50% for me is the magic number, probably won't increase this any time soon.

I'm not screwing around with accessories anymore, now I will apply a similar "531" approach to them.

GHR
2x10 BW
1xAMRAP (did 6 reps) with 7.5 lb DB's in each hand

BACK EXTENSIONS
2x10 BW
1x AMRAP (did 12 reps) with 35 lb plate

So gassed after this. Great thing is though my hips do not hurt!!! All the lacross ball massaging has helped greatly. My epsom salt has arrived. Time for a nice long warm bath in it. PS - I'm never working out almost fasted again. IDK how you intermittent fasters do it but I sure can't. And I'm keto, which should mean I don't need carbs. But I need SOMETHING lol. I only had a 200 calorie snack before hitting the gym and I was struggling towards the end there haha

[cirion0000]

OK let's see if this works...

[Muzzlrpress]

OK let's see if this works...

Strong squats bro. Seems to be a bit of butt wink.

[cirion0000]

Strong squats bro. Seems to be a bit of butt wink.

Yeah I know =( Trying to work on it. I honestly thought it'd be a bit worse than it was though. I videoed my warm up sets, and i had TERRIBLE form on the ones leading up to the top set, that video actually was my best, I am glad I started taking videos. Now I'm 50x more form conscious and I improved just today, but a long ways to go. Any tips for avoiding it? Hip mobility maybe?

I also like that taking videos forces me to just go to the bar and get it done rather than think about how heavy it is otherwise the video would be too long. I felt like a boss just walking up to it and ripping it out of the cage =) Normally I used to screw with the bar as long as 30-60 second before getting it done

[Muzzlrpress]

Yeah I know =( Trying to work on it. I honestly thought it'd be a bit worse than it was though. I videoed my warm up sets, and i had TERRIBLE form on the ones leading up to the top set, that video actually was my best, I am glad I started taking videos. Now I'm 50x more form conscious and I improved just today, but a long ways to go. Any tips for avoiding it? Hip mobility maybe?

I also like that taking videos forces me to just go to the bar and get it done rather than think about how heavy it is otherwise the video would be too long. I felt like a boss just walking up to it and ripping it out of the cage =) Normally I used to screw with the bar as long as 30-60 second before getting it done

Hip mobility and also stretch them hams.

[cirion0000]

Hip mobility and also stretch them hams.

Got any good videos you can link me you would suggest me to do on the daily or at least fairly regularly? For hams I just like go to a wall and keep my leg straight as possible for a stretch but for hips I'm not too knowledgable where to start