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

[cirion0000]

Dreamed I was bench pressing last night. Sure sign that I am going through lifting withdrawal.

I hate deload week, but one could argue it's the most important part of a cycle as it's where I get a fresh start and recover all my built up fatigue. Back in action on Thurs with some squats.

[christopherbello]

Dreamed I was bench pressing last night. Sure sign that I am going through lifting withdrawal.

I hate deload week, but one could argue it's the most important part of a cycle as it's where I get a fresh start and recover all my built up fatigue. Back in action on Thurs with some squats.

your crazy man. I would be bored out of my mind! Last time I took a full week off it was like my CNS lost all momentum and everything felt heavy as **** the week after!!! Why not go in for really light sets and reps or even just some hypertrophy fluff on the arms haha

[cirion0000]

your crazy man. I would be bored out of my mind! Last time I took a full week off it was like my CNS lost all momentum and everything felt heavy as **** the week after!!! Why not go in for really light sets and reps or even just some hypertrophy fluff on the arms haha

You have no idea. I've come to terms with the fact that my body needs its time off though, and so it's a necessary evil.

I am going to squat tonight probably, can't wait any longer, lol

I actually tend to come back stronger after time off. Ready to kill some 5x5 squats

After yet another night of dreaming about lifting I figure it's time. I dreamed I killed a 4 plate DL, then attempted a 5 plate DL and actually got it to knee level before failure. Needless to say I was very sad when I woke up realizing it was a dream. It was so realistic that I even remember intimate details like adjusting my weights for next cycle to accommodate the new PR. Crazy how realistic dreams can be.

I'll be at 5 plates one day. Just not today though.

[wishiwasdivin]

Oh the horror of a deload

[moshvr]

Go workout!

[Muzzlrpress]

Failed a lift in your dreams? Dafuq?

[cirion0000]

Failed a lift in your dreams? Dafuq?

Yeah but when I can't in reality even do 4 plates, the fact I could even lift 5 plates off the floor was insane lol

[cirion0000]

ADVANCED 5/3/1 CYCLE 2 WEEK 1 SQUATS
lbs

Bar x 5
125 x 4
160 x 3
195 x 2
210 x 1 (was supposed to do 230 x 1, oops)
270 x 5 x 5

GHR w/ 5 lb db's each arm x 10 reps

Did about my previous 1 rep max (from beginning of this log) for 5x5, so that's pretty cool.

[Muzzlrpress]

Nice squatting undeloaded brah

[cirion0000]

Nice squatting undeloaded brah

Thanks man, could definitely tell I was out of my game (not squatting for so long gets you out of the groove) but still got the reps without too much difficulty. Pretty good start to the cycle.

[cirion0000]

Good and bad session at the same time. The good: bench reps felt easier than last cycle.

The bad: something is wrong with my left pec in particular. It's felt strained for a while now, and tonight while doing DB rows of all things (not during bench?) it felt like my left pec was about to rip off, not good. I don't even bench with any sort of high frequency, what's going on? I am going to have to wait longer than usual to hit bench again just to be safe, and hit up more protein than usual and stretches/ART to fix this mess.

ADVANCED 5/3/1 CYCLE 2 WEEK 1 BENCH DAY
lbs

BARx5
85x4
115x3
140x2
165x1
190x5x5

Some accessory work, of most note:
Neutral grip pullups + 20 lb x 10 reps (last 2 reps had a 5 second wait)
DB rows 75 lb x 15 rep each side (this is where it felt like my pec almost was going to tear)

[cirion0000]

Deadlift day later tonight. Looking forward to this cycle on DL, since on the final week I will be doing PR weight for every single (5 set of 1 at 340 lb) and finally be hitting good weight starting next cycle especially. Almost to 4 plate. Chest feels a little better, but left pec still a bit more sore than normal. I think I've narrowed my problem to DB rows. I've only ever seemed to notice pec strain symptoms during DB rows (not bench, weird?). I confess I am using a little bit of body english on DB rows (aka semi-cheat "Kroc" rows) since I go for heavy high reps. But even that being the case, I do think chest gets used on DB rows for stability since I do one handed rows (example, while doing it on the right arm, it's the left pec I feel it in and vice versa).

So, for the next couple of upper body sessions I plan to take it easy and not do DB rows while my pecs heal up.

The really strong dude was at the gym too and he told me I just needed to take it easier on benching with wider grip but I don't buy that since I don't have problems during benching itself, and plus I am tired of resetting bench - I haven't PR'd bench in 2 months since my epic 270 lb bench, I have to get 315 lb, so no more screwing around with resetting.

He did give me great form advice though, and showed me how to set up my arch better as well as recommended me to put my ring finger on the rings rather than my pinkies from before, to further reduce my ROM from my semi-long arms.

On another front, my back pain seems a lot less than usual. I am cautiously optimistic that I may finally be slowly on the path to 100% recovery. Here's hoping. It pays to listen to my body and rest what needs to be rest, which is why I'm taking it easy on the pecs too, not worth taking a risk tearing something.

[cirion0000]

ADVANCED 5/3/1 CYCLE 2 WEEK 1 DEADLIFTS

Whew. Fun day. I felt amazing on first two sets but it started to break down. Barely managed the last set. Curse you, 5x5 deadlifts!! Too many sets!!

My body has no choice but to start growing with this kind of work.

135x5
160x3
195x2
230x1
270x5x5

time to go die, eat, shower, in no particular order

[moshvr]

ADVANCED 5/3/1 CYCLE 2 WEEK 1 DEADLIFTS

Whew. Fun day. I felt amazing on first two sets but it started to break down. Barely managed the last set. Curse you, 5x5 deadlifts!! Too many sets!!

My body has no choice but to start growing with this kind of work.

135x5
160x3
195x2
230x1
270x5x5

time to go die, eat, shower, in no particular order

Haha 5x5 deads suck so much. Good for you though man, that's a lot of reps at that weight

[cirion0000]

Haha 5x5 deads suck so much. Good for you though man, that's a lot of reps at that weight

Ehhh, I'll be more happy when I am doing 5x5 at 315+. My deadlift should be a lot higher than it is considering my squat max is something like 360 now, I don't know why my deadlift is slacking. Most guys with my squat seem to be able to do somewhere between 400-450 on deadlift.

I think part of my problem is I am ultra strict on deadlifts now too, I don't allow any sort of back rounding due to previous injury, so I never do true 1 rep max deadlifts ever anymore. I probably actually could pull 400+, but my back would break in the process lol

[moshvr]

Ehhh, I'll be more happy when I am doing 5x5 at 315+. My deadlift should be a lot higher than it is considering my squat max is something like 360 now, I don't know why my deadlift is slacking. Most guys with my squat seem to be able to do somewhere between 400-450 on deadlift.

I think part of my problem is I am ultra strict on deadlifts now too, I don't allow any sort of back rounding due to previous injury, so I never do true 1 rep max deadlifts ever anymore. I probably actually could pull 400+, but my back would break in the process lol

hmm we really do seem to be full opposites ... my squat sucks so much and my deads are nice and strong lol.

Better safe than sorry man. Can't do anything if you fuk your back up

[cirion0000]

hmm we really do seem to be full opposites ... my squat sucks so much and my deads are nice and strong lol.

Better safe than sorry man. Can't do anything if you fuk your back up

I was actually making insanely fast progress on conventional. I got up to a 370 lb conventional pull from never working out in my life after 1 year, but this is what injured me in the first place. I probably actually could be at a 500 lb conventional pull by now if I hadn't injured myself. My progress with sumo pulls seems to be much slower sadly, but it's either sumo or nothing until I can ever do conventional again.

[HoneyBadger300]

Looks like you're doing well back on the next cycle! I missed your deload week, haha.

[cirion0000]

Looks like you're doing well back on the next cycle! I missed your deload week, haha.

Nothing to miss lol

I am getting some pretty good squat progress especially on this. I am still hoping I can hit 400 squat by christmas. Probably cycle after this one I will go for broke and put on 4 plates on squats on the last squat day of the cycle and get 'er done.

This will be my biggest accomplishment to date, so I am really eager to get it. I have not seen one guy in over 2 years of going to my commercial gym do a 4 plate squat to proper depth. Shoot even 3 plate proper depth I've seen maybe once or twice. Yea it's just a commercial gym lol but it's still a big ego stroking if I can get it.

Great OHP gains last cycle, doing 120 lb 5x5 tonight, and hitting some 150 lb (!!!) for singles at the end of this cycle. Most weight I have ever remember touching on OHP, and for 5 sets no less. Can't wait. Feeling boss mode

[cirion0000]

ADVANCED 5/3/1 CYCLE 2 WEEK 1 OHP
lbs

As soon as I unracked and did just the bar I knew it was going to be a good day because how light it felt.
45x5
55x4
70x3
85x2
105x1
120x5x5

Too easy, everything was RPE 8 or less.



Now for feast: omelette made with 12 whole eggs and a whole block of cheese. Gainzzzz

[cirion0000]

Idk why but motivation was fairly low this morning. Just wasn't feeling it. Session still went okay though.

Advanced 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Week 2 Squats
45 x 5
160 x 4
195 x 3
230 x 2
270 x 1
305 x 3
305 x 3
305 x 3
305 x 3
305 x 3

GHR x12 reps (while carrying 5 lb DB's)

Lots of quality reps over 300 lb, so that's pretty cool.

[cirion0000]

Body weight up to 195 lb today which I figured was something of note, a new bodyweight PR lol. Getting beefy! Chest is finally starting to feel mostly normal, which is good because today is a bench day.

I will still be bulking for the forseeable future. My body fat has creeped up a little, but I don't even care anymore. I've been trolling the "post your pictures" subforum and saw the results of people bulking all the way to 220-240 at my height and then cutting down to 205, with absolutely incredible result. I do still care about aesthetics building, but I can't build my aesthetics without gaining mass first. I might consider cutting if my body fat ever hits 20%, since I don't want to be unhealthy, but I still have a good 3-4% before I hit that.

Still not going to risk doing DB rows today. I guess semi-cheater DB rows used more chest than I had thought so I have to take it easy and only do these every so often. In fact, this might be why my bench wasn't doing great for a while... I was constantly overworking my chest so it couldn't get stronger. Maybe in the future I'll just hit up DB rows on OHP day or something. Depending how my chest feels after tonight, I might bring back DB rows for next OHP session.

[moshvr]

Nice work with the last few sessions brother. OHP feeling nice and light is great.

Ever jealous of the squat work from you, but I think I've sorted out my squat issue, so I'm hoping the gains will come back quickly on those too.

in for epic bench session today

[Muzzlrpress]

Idk why but motivation was fairly low this morning. Just wasn't feeling it. Session still went okay though.

Advanced 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Week 2 Squats
45 x 5
160 x 4
195 x 3
230 x 2
270 x 1
305 x 3
305 x 3
305 x 3
305 x 3
305 x 3

GHR x12 reps (while carrying 5 lb DB's)

Lots of quality reps over 300 lb, so that's pretty cool.

Gjdm! You outweigh me now.

[cirion0000]

Nice work with the last few sessions brother. OHP feeling nice and light is great.

Ever jealous of the squat work from you, but I think I've sorted out my squat issue, so I'm hoping the gains will come back quickly on those too.

in for epic bench session today

Eh, I have found out why my squats are so easy... it's because my femurs are so short that my ROM becomes low enough to equate to a half squat to a lot of other people, after having watched myself on video and then watched your average joe squat I can tell. Example the other day was watching someone and he had to have the pins at the second lowest setting in order to hit depth, whereas I only have to have the pins at the fifth lowest (Three whole pins up!!! that's a big deal...) to hit depth.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention there was some really amusing/annoying guy in the gym when I was hitting squats. He was doing simple crap like ab work and he was grunting after each rep like he was doing 500 lb DL's or something. Meanwhile, I'm in the squat rack doing 305 lb reps to depth with barely a sound.

Cmon, if you're going to grunt, at least be strong enough to justify it. It was just downright obnoxious, lol.

[cirion0000]

Gjdm! You outweigh me now.

True, but I'm 3 inches taller (I'm actually 6 foot) so in that sense, you are heavier, kinda.

[cirion0000]

Today was an okay day. Not amazing, not terrible. The best news is that I only had some slight chest discomfort during benching, nowhere near where it has been. Temporarily axing DB rows seems to be doing the trick. I'm not going to tempt fate. Going to wait until next cycle to bring them back probably. Can't risk it flaring up again.

Some of the sets were harder than I would have liked, but none of the reps were massive grinders, but definitely some RPE 8.5-9's.

I also utilized the tricks some guy taught me. I went even wider today (ring finger on the rings), and also I set up my arch a lot better, probably the best yet. I'll try to get a video some time down the road to see how good/bad it is.

Now time to eat, drink, be merry, and get fat.

ADVANCED 5/3/1 WEEK 2 CYCLE 2 BENCH DAY
45 x 5
115 x 4
140 x 3
165 x 2
190 x 1
215 x 3
215 x 3
215 x 3
215 x 3
215 x 3

Neutral grip chin ups + 20 lbs x 10 reps

Some other misc accessory work not really of note

[wishiwasdivin]

Some good training going on keep it up

[christopherbello]

Today was an okay day. Not amazing, not terrible. The best news is that I only had some slight chest discomfort during benching, nowhere near where it has been. Temporarily axing DB rows seems to be doing the trick. I'm not going to tempt fate. Going to wait until next cycle to bring them back probably. Can't risk it flaring up again.

Some of the sets were harder than I would have liked, but none of the reps were massive grinders, but definitely some RPE 8.5-9's.

I also utilized the tricks some guy taught me. I went even wider today (ring finger on the rings), and also I set up my arch a lot better, probably the best yet. I'll try to get a video some time down the road to see how good/bad it is.

Now time to eat, drink, be merry, and get fat.

ADVANCED 5/3/1 WEEK 2 CYCLE 2 BENCH DAY
45 x 5
115 x 4
140 x 3
165 x 2
190 x 1
215 x 3
215 x 3
215 x 3
215 x 3
215 x 3

Neutral grip chin ups + 20 lbs x 10 reps

Some other misc accessory work not really of note

Ring finger on the rings? I thought you were going wide as that already, no? Do you plan to go wide as legal possible? Index finger on the rings I think. hurts thinking about it haha. Anyone remember if either(wide vs. narrow) is more ideal for raw vs. equipped? Just wondering, keep it up and get some vids up haha

[moshvr]

Nice bench work fella