First Journal entry

[Cantplankwell]

So, you've been following 5/3/1 since December? You must like it, then. Your workouts look like a lot of volume, as well. Nice journal!

Thanks, yes the 531 is very recovery friendly, and sustainable. I am using the BBB template, or at least 90% compliance to it. I did 5x5 last year, then 5x3 and finally decided squatting three times a week is too much for me...months on end. Also cant eat the volume of food that 5x5 requires, or do stuff like GOMAD...if I was 15 years younger maybe!

[Cantplankwell]

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week 2 Military Press Day

Training Max; 110lbs

Warmups, Skip Rope, lots of arm, wrist, elbow circles, dislocations, misc stretches, about 10 minutes worth of work

Main Lifts;

45x6
65x5
75x3
80%x3, 88lbs
85%x3, 95lbs
90%x3+1, 100lbs

Accessory Lifts;

More Mil Presses 70lbs 5 sets o'10
Dips 4 sets of 8, (yes band assisted, but getting easier)
Shrugs: 95lbs 4 sets of 10
Barbell Curls 45lbs 4 sets of 10

Conditioning

Skipping rope, singles; 200, 150, 100, 50 minimal rest between these numbers.

Notes: Did a couple of extra light accessories, which I think was a good idea, gave that bit of extra burn. Weigh in this morning 182 lbs (down a couple), 38.25" waist, measured at belly button.

Nutrition; Calories;2500, Carbs: 202g, Protein; 167g, Fat;129g,

[Cantplankwell]

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week 2 Deadlift day

Training Max 265lbs

Warm Up: Skip rope, Everett Oly warm up, hip openers, about 20 minutes worth

Work up to an easy full Clean in several sets, got up to 60kg

Main Lifts;

135x5
185x5
80%x3, 212 lbs
85%x3, 225 lbs
90%x3+1, 238 lbs

Accessory Lifts;

Front Squats: 115 lbs 5 sets of 10
Some GHDs, a few sets
Seated Box Jumps, 24" side, BW +10lbs 3 sets of 8

Conditioning;

Bear Complex, 1 rep = 1 power clean+1 front squat+1 push press+1 back squat+1 front squat..95lbs EMOM for 10 minutes

Notes: The new titan GHD stand I bought is solid but the foot plate is too far from the shin pads IMHO, may have to mod it a little, tonight was a struggle to get a few sets in. I have had exposure to a few models and they all have slightly different geometry and padding and set upx, now I have to learn a new one.

Nutrition: My info for dinner was sketchy as it was an agglomeration of things, I had to take an educated guess on the main dish...stew, and some left over shepherds pie which would have went to the garbage if I didn't eat it.

Calories 3190, Carbs:256g, Protein 151g, Fats:103g

[Cantplankwell]

Yesterday: Walk 5.5km

Nutrition: Total Disaster, 1/2 of the calories came from one hamburger / onion rings from a locally famous hamburger joint, I new this was going to happen so I was miserly on consumption earlier in the day. Was an epic burg tho.

Cal: 2943, Car: 225, Pro: 169.1, Fat: 153.2


Today: 5K Run Day

Time 26:53, not trying to make excuses but had some pretty cramps last 1k or so that caused me to slow down the pace, time could have been as low as 26:20

Cal: 2312, Car:268, Pro: 112, Fat: 88

Should be bench press day tomorrow, depends on sleep.

[whatevergirl]

Yay for the 5k! Nice job.

Your lifts look good, too. Don't beat yourself up over one day of going off of your nutrition plan...tomorrow's a new day.

[Cantplankwell]

Yay for the 5k! Nice job.

Your lifts look good, too. Don't beat yourself up over one day of going off of your nutrition plan...tomorrow's a new day.

Yes there are 365 days of the year, I can be off the mark one or two here or there!

[Cantplankwell]

Decided to make today a rest day.

Nutrition; Cal:2569, Cal:230, Pro:130, Fat:119 ...

[Cantplankwell]

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week 2 Bench Press Day

Training Max 141lbs

Warm Up: Skipping rope, arm circles, dislocations, a few other random stretches

Main Lifts: Bench Presses

45x10
45x8
65x6
75x5
95x3
80%x3, 113lbs
85%x3, 119lbs
90%x3+1, 126lbs

Accessory Lifts:

More bench presses: 80lbs 5 sets of 10
Barbell Rows; 80lbs, 4 sets of 10, 1 set of 8
Skull Crushers: 30lbs 4 sets of 10

Conditioning:

Farmers Carrys, 160lbs 120' , 30 seconds rest, repeat 5x

Notes: Skull crushers (tricep extensions) new to me, still getting used to the new bench/rack arrangement. Finally my C2 rower is scheduled to arrive monday. Ill be able to do some 21,15,9 workouts for my conditioning.

Nutrition: Cal:2517, Car: 188, Pro:149, Fat:126

[Cantplankwell]

Yesterday: Momapalooza, nothing got done, lots of eating, could not even begin to count nutrition.

Today:

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week 2 Squat Day

Training Max: 220 lbs

Warm Up: Skipping rope, yoga stretches, glute activation, wrist, elbow, arm circles, all kinds of stuff..20 min..more warm up needed on squat day than any other.

Main Lifts

45x8
115x5
135x5
165x4
80%x3, 176 lbs
85%x3, 187 lbs
95%x3+2, 200 lbs

Accessory Lifts:

More Squats; 110x10x5
GHRs, some of these, 3 sets of 5...getting used to this new stand
Bulgarian Split Squats 5 sets of 10 at BW
Snatch Warm Up

Conditioning:

EMOM 1 rep for 10 min, Beginner snatch complex 30kg, 1 rep= 1 snatch dead lift+1 snatch pull+1 power snatch


Notes: Got a long way to go with the snatches, If I could get my arse out to the garage earlier I could get more practice in.

Nutrition: Calories 2399, Carbs 198, Pro 152, Fat, 113....under today.

about a month and a bit my average calories are 2528, I have not gained a pound, so this is my TDEE surely. Now what to do?

[Cantplankwell]

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week Military Press Day

Training Max 110 lbs

Warm up: Skip rope,wall slide, band pass through, band pull aparts, wrist, elbow, arm circles.

Main Lifts:

45x8
45x5
65x4
75x3
75%x5, 83 lbs
85%x3, 95 lbs
95%x1+2, 105lbs !!!!!!!!!!!! NEW PR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Assessory Lifts:

More Mil Presses 70 lbs, set of 10,then 9, then 10, then 2x8. This was a stall, dont know why, did this last week
Dips, 5 sets as many as I can: 10, 8, 7, 7, 6 these were band assisted, but I think I am making progress here. Full range on these lock out to lock out.
Barbell Curls, 50lbs 4 sets of 10

Conditioning:

Finally the long awaited arrival of my C2 mod D rower. Kicked things of with intervals...Row a distance and then rest 1 minute, distances 500, 400, 300, 200, 100

Notes: Stalled on the BBB set, lack of sleep, the extra + on the PR set, still gassed from squats yesterday, for sure I was significantly under in my calories after squatting yesterday. All of these were probably contributors.

Body weight 181 lbs, height 5'11, waist 38.25"

Nutrition Today: Cal:2909, Carbs: 321(!), Pro:168, Fat: 93

Tomorrow probably active rest, either a light jog early am, or an evening 30+ min walk

[TnTNZ]

Nice journal going on here. Subbing in.

I looked at 5/3/1 as a potential, and got put onto The Cube instead, for what I'm doing it's probably a better fit.

I was still enjoying the 3x5 style training.

The Cube seems structured in a similar style, and the recovery aspect as well as not pushing it to failure regularly seem to agree with me as well.

[Cantplankwell]

Nice journal going on here. Subbing in.

I looked at 5/3/1 as a potential, and got put onto The Cube instead, for what I'm doing it's probably a better fit.

I was still enjoying the 3x5 style training.

The Cube seems structured in a similar style, and the recovery aspect as well as not pushing it to failure regularly seem to agree with me as well.

Thanks for popping in! I check in on yours as well. Never heard of the cube, I will look it up.

[Cantplankwell]

Yesterday

5K Day! perfect morning for running, time 26:53,

Nutrition; Cal:1992, Car:159, Pro:155, Fat:77.6


Today

Rest day

Nutrition; Cal:2091, Car:158, Pro:168, Fat:64.9

Laying off on the carbs days I don't weight train, while keeping the protein as close to 150 to 170 g.

[Cantplankwell]

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week 3 Dead Lift Day

Training Max 265 lbs

Warm Up: Skipping rope, dislocations, arm, wrist, elbow circles, various yoga-ish stretches, glute activation, etc, 20 minutes here.

More Warm up: Practice clean, high hang, hip, tall clean with an MT bar, then work my way up to 60kg with a full clean in triples, then doubles, the final being singles.

Main Lifts

135 lbs x 5
185 lbs x 3
75%x5, 200 lbs
85%x3, 225 lbs
95%x1+1, 252 lbs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!New PR Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Assistance Lifts

More Dead Lifts: 135lbs, 5 sets of 10
Some GHRs: 3 sets of 5,

Conditioning:

The "bear" version 2, 30kg... 1 rep = Power Clean, Front squat, Push Press, Back Squat, Push press 7 sets of 3 reps, not removing hands from bar within sets.
Time was around 7 minutes to complete, this is obviously much more taxing than version 1 which is 1 rep EMOM for 10 minutes. I was gassed after this. Next time I am going to slow it down and worry about form and take the full 10 minutes, there was more than a few sloppy push presses after the front squat due to the grip change.

Notes: Today was another of those days I could have easily said screw it, but persevered anyway. The above was done over a leisurely 1.5 hours

Nutrition: Since its a lifting day Today I decided to not look at calories/carbs and eat like I feel; Cal:3220, Car: 329, Pro:165, Fat:136. 390 calories of this came from a serving of ice cream! I figured screw it, I have not had ice cream probably in at least a month or two despite it being on hand for the kids.

Tomorrow: active rest day, maybe a little rowing, or a good long walk.

Thanks for tuning in.

[Cantplankwell]

Yesterday: Rest day, well not really, did about 6 or 7 hours of yard work

Nutrition: Cal:2430, Car:152, Pro: 164, Fat:127


Today; 5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week Bench Press Day

Training Max: 141

Warm Up: Skip rope, band pass throughs, band pull aparts, dislocations, wrist, elbow, arm circles, 10 minutes here

Main Lifts:

45x8
45x6
65x5
75x4
95x3
75%x5, 105 lbs
85%x3, 120 lbs
95%x1+2 135 lbs (finally a bench using man size plates!)

Assistance Lifts:

More Bench Presses: 85lbs 5 sets of 10
BO Barbell Rows: 85lb 4 sets of 8
YTWLs
Skull Crushers, 35lbs, 5 sets of 10

Conditioning:

Rowing Intervals: 500m, rest 1 min, 400m rest 1 min, 300m rest 1 min, 200m rest 1 min, 100m rest 1 min

Notes: Was really happy with this session, even had a little pump happening in my arms that I could see.

Nutrition: Cal:2945, Car:298, Pro:170, Fat:163

[SixTribes]

I don't have the discipline to track my macros...good on you for doing it... And I'm a fan of 5/3/1..its done well for me...I'll be heading back to it this fall... good work all around

[Cantplankwell]

I don't have the discipline to track my macros...good on you for doing it... And I'm a fan of 5/3/1..its done well for me...I'll be heading back to it this fall... good work all around

Thanks ST, the recording gets easier, as I eat a lot of the same stuff all of the time. I just have to flip back and forth in my book to find info on this or that. Also like someone else on the board said, you develop and eye for what 50g of broc**** should look like.

[Cantplankwell]

Yesterday

Light cardio: 35 min walk

Nutrition; Cal: 2135, Car:155, Pro: 118, Fat:1334

Today

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week 3 Squat Day

Training Max: 220 lbs

Warm Up: Skip rope, yoga stretches, glute activation, etc, about 15 minutes

45x6
115x5
135x4
155x3
75%x5, 165 lbs
85%x3, 187 lbs
95%x1+2, 210 lbs

Accessory Lifts:

More Squats; 112 lbs 5 sets of 10
Barbell Box step ups: 45 lbs 4 sets of 10

Condtioning:

Beginners Snatch Complex ver 2

1 rep EMOM for 10 min, 30kg, 1 rep=snatch dead lift+snatch pull+power snatch+overhead squat

Notes; failed to reach full snatch depth on any of the overhead squat portions, but came close on a couple of the reps, couple of go rounds on this and I will have it dialed.
weight: 182lbs, waist 38" measured at belly button.

Nutrition: Calories: 2866, Car:216, Pro:172, Fat:100

[SixTribes]

Snatch complex ? Good Lord...that will make you strong!

[Cantplankwell]

Snatch complex ? Good Lord...that will make you strong!

or be my undoing!

[Cantplankwell]

Yesterday

Rest Day

Nutrition; Cal:2689, Car:276, Pro:169, fat:92.4

Today:

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week 4 De-Load, Mil Press Day

Training Max: 110 lbs

Warm up: skipping rope, band pull aparts, dislocations, band pass thru, wrist, elbow...arm circles. 10 minutes

Main Lifts;

45x5
40%x5, 44 lbs
50%x5, 55 lbs
60%x5, 66 lbs

Assistance Lifts;

More Mil presses:, 45 lbs 5 sets of 10
Shrugs: 70lbs 5 sets of 10
Dips: 4 sets of 8 (Band assistance)

Conditioning:

Rowing pyramid, row an interval... rest 1 minute. Intervals 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m

Nutrition: Cal:3055, Car:182, Pro:159, Fat:152

Notes: Need an easy week. Cycle 6 should yield 3 new PRs. Again my nutrition is not where I want it, going to take some time to make sure I dont overspend on calories with not enough protein and fat.

[TM79]

Nice work going on in here CPW. Digging the rowing pyramid. That's a great interval. I see you're running 5-3-1 and making some gains. That's a great program. I ran it for a while a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Anyway, I'll try to stop in as much as I can. Keep up the good work!

[Cantplankwell]

Nice work going on in here CPW. Digging the rowing pyramid. That's a great interval. I see you're running 5-3-1 and making some gains. That's a great program. I ran it for a while a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Anyway, I'll try to stop in as much as I can. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the kind words!

[Cantplankwell]

Friday

Rest Day, Woke up in the middle of the (thursday) night with a wicked muscle spasm in my left calf, actually cried out! It was still cramping in the morning so I ditched working out and did some stretching off an on during the day. Nutrition wise it was also a day where I actually planned my meals on the fly with a budget aiming to get the most protein out of the least amount of carbs/cal. This meant I had to go home at lunch and grill a 150g striploin, with raw veggies (lots of celery and tomatoes on the side)

Nutrition: Cal:1900, Car:138, Pro:170, Fat:76


Saturday

5/3/1 Cycle 5 Week 4 De-Load week, Dead Lift Day

Training Max: 265

Warm Up: Skip rope, some yoga stretches, hip openers, arm-wrist-elbow circles, dislocations, about 8-10 minutes worth

Main Lifts

5x95lbs
40%x5, 105 lbs
50%x5, 135 lbs
60%x5, 160 lbs

Assistance Lifts

More Dead Lifts: 95 lbs, 5 sets of 10
GHRs: 3 sets of 5,
Practice the "clean", mid hang -jump, mid hand-pull, tall muscle clean, mid hang-clean, full clean, all with just the 20kg bar...Greg Everett Progression from his book

Condtioning:

In the tru spirit of de-load week: Nothing heavy today...35 minute walk...brisk pace,

Notes, Calves are still sore. This must be a by product of skip rope during every session. the GHRs are still a problem, this titan stand has a different way of adjusting and no knee rest, it also has an insane amount of distance between the foot pad and the shin rolls, I experimented with putting 3/4 inch ply wood on the footpad which helped but you have to really still wedge your knees into the bottom of the big pads which restricts your movement IMHO. This is where having an experienced trainer would help me, which is not going to happen in my garage. I may end of selling it before winter and getting the AMSTAF version of this machine, which I originally learned on, it has the knee rest, and you dont have to wedge.

Weight steady at 182 lbs (5'11"), Waist: 38", with a few ups and downs this is dropping about 1/2" per month.

Nutrition: Cal:2360, Car: 221, Pro:144, Fat:92 Under on the protein, was busy around with yard work and actually forgot snacks, and the second protein shake.

CPW

[TM79]

Nice job on the deload workout. Sorry to hear about the trouble doing GHR's. I don't even have a GHD Machine so can't really help, but I did see that you mentioned putting your knees on the pads. The guy in this video recommends having your knees behind the pads. I'm not sure if this is feasible for you or not as this is the Rogue GHD Machine. The foot rests on the Titan appear to pivot rather than slide.



Maybe give this a shot?

[TnTNZ]

Knees on or behind depends on how hard you are trying to make it. Knees behind makes it easier.

Though if your one doesn't have pads like in that vid, I'd be leaning towards getting rid of it.

That said, remember, GHRs are the work of satan And damn good at strengthening hamstrings!

[Cantplankwell]

My stand, the Titan, I think is essentially a copy of this Rogue Abrams, yes I have watched this video a few times. Notice how they dont put a weak skinny guy on there heh heh.! I place my knees exactly like he does. The Bret Contreras video is good too, he shows a bunch of different ways to set yourself up on it to do GHRs,

I have not figured out how to post pictures yet, but the if you look at an amstaf" stand (what I learned on), and some others, just below the big half moon pads they have a little knee rest, so your knees actually rest on that little pad, you are not wedged in there like the abrams stand. The knee rest takes some of the load, so it gives some advantage

Apparently the stands without the knee pad are more difficult to use...it takes more core/glute/hamstring strength when you don't have a knee pad to keep you from falling through. I can do 4 sets of 10 plus reps on the amstaf stand. In my stand maybe 3 without band assist. In the abrams style you can put your knees higher up but naturally it will be harder to use..takes more strength.

I suppose I should just tough it out and realize this stand is harder to use, because my posterior chain, and core need work. I have been band assisting this to right now.

It could also take a little further playing around with the adjustments to get it right also. Ill get it sooner or later I dont give up very easily. (maybe I am some kind of masochist)


Thanks for being considerate,

[TM79]

My stand, the Titan, I think is essentially a copy of this Rogue Abrams, yes I have watched this video a few times. Notice how they dont put a weak skinny guy on there heh heh.! I place my knees exactly like he does. The Bret Contreras video is good too, he shows a bunch of different ways to set yourself up on it to do GHRs,

I have not figured out how to post pictures yet, but the if you look at an amstaf" stand (what I learned on), and some others, just below the big half moon pads they have a little knee rest, so your knees actually rest on that little pad, you are not wedged in there like the abrams stand. The knee rest takes some of the load, so it gives some advantage

Apparently the stands without the knee pad are more difficult to use...it takes more core/glute/hamstring strength when you don't have a knee pad to keep you from falling through. I can do 4 sets of 10 plus reps on the amstaf stand. In my stand maybe 3 without band assist. In the abrams style you can put your knees higher up but naturally it will be harder to use..takes more strength.

I suppose I should just tough it out and realize this stand is harder to use, because my posterior chain, and core need work. I have been band assisting this to right now.

It could also take a little further playing around with the adjustments to get it right also. Ill get it sooner or later I dont give up very easily. (maybe I am some kind of masochist)


Thanks for being considerate,

Yeah, I would play with the adjustments and start by doing some variation that makes them a little more doable. It sounds like you're doing that already with the band. I do them once or twice per cycle and hook my feet under a horizontal framing member on my power rack and then lower myself to the floor. I haven't videoed myself doing those, but am pretty sure that my mid section caves first and then I catch myself with my hands to keep from knocking all of my teeth out on the floor. Then I do a sort've "push-off" with my hands to get me part of the way up and do the rest with my hamstrings and core. I'm just imagining, but doing them on a GHD seems like it would be incredibly hard. Maybe try them on the floor if you have that option?

[Cantplankwell]

Yeah, I would play with the adjustments and start by doing some variation that makes them a little more doable. It sounds like you're doing that already with the band. I do them once or twice per cycle and hook my feet under a horizontal framing member on my power rack and then lower myself to the floor. I haven't videoed myself doing those, but am pretty sure that my mid section caves first and then I catch myself with my hands to keep from knocking all of my teeth out on the floor. Then I do a sort've "push-off" with my hands to get me part of the way up and do the rest with my hamstrings and core. I'm just imagining, but doing them on a GHD seems like it would be incredibly hard. Maybe try them on the floor if you have that option?

Your lifting numbers are much higher than mind, plus you obviously have way more time in under the bar. With a proper stand I have no doubt you would have an easier time than me. Not sure I would want to try them on the floor for fear of falling on my face!

[Cantplankwell]

Knees on or behind depends on how hard you are trying to make it. Knees behind makes it easier.

Though if your one doesn't have pads like in that vid, I'd be leaning towards getting rid of it.

That said, remember, GHRs are the work of satan And damn good at strengthening hamstrings!

I apparently have a devil may care attitude!