The endless journey

[pezking7p]

Pretty nice deadlifting any way you slice it. This reminds me I should do more front squatting in the future.

That's a lot of stuff to get done in under an hour. Good Job.

[17mahmoods]

Pretty nice deadlifting any way you slice it. This reminds me I should do more front squatting in the future.

That's a lot of stuff to get done in under an hour. Good Job.

I started front squats pretty late. Definitely an exercise that will be in all my future programs.

I could do a lot more if it weren't for deadlifts. Just gotta take my sweet time with them. No harm in cutting out accessories on one occasion as they are after all just accessories.

[sooby]

quality deadlift PR there

[17mahmoods]

quality deadlift PR there

Thanks man.

Don't have those quality reps though. Form is pretty bad.

[TnTNZ]

Finally in.

Strong stuff going on.

Failing at 10 reps, on pullups. I know dem feels bro. I can eek out 10 reps unweighted, weighted I tend to fail between 6-8 reps.

[17mahmoods]

Finally in.

Strong stuff going on.

Failing at 10 reps, on pullups. I know dem feels bro. I can eek out 10 reps unweighted, weighted I tend to fail between 6-8 reps.

I found out that for me it's my grip that gives out. Not a weak grip but sweaty AF hands.

It's dry winter now so grip is hella lot less slippery. Lots of pull-up prs to come.

[17mahmoods]

Saturday 16/12/17
5/3/1
Cycle 3 Week 1 Day 4

BW:72kg/158.7lb. I think I have lost all the water weight from creatine now.

WD: 83 minutes. weighted pull-ups take annoyingly long to set up.

OHP
- 1x3 @36/79
- 1x3 @40/88
- 1x7 @46/101
- 1x3 @56/123
- 1x4 @62/137 Rep PR
//
Pullups 5x5 @17/37
• Last rep was rather ugly on the PR set. Wasn't planning on doing it so didn't brace at the top. You can see I pause at the bottom, contemplating whether I should do and well I decided to grind it out. I was wobbling like jellyfish.

Filmed the last set for both pullups and OHP. Getting less camera shy. Vids make the log a lot more interesting.




Bench 3x5 @72/159
//
DB Rows 3x8 @42/93

Seated Rows 3x10 @12
//
CGB 3x8 @58/128

Cross-Body Curls 3x18 @18/40
//
Standing DB French Press 3x12 @12/26

Comments:
Wrist was strained after ohp and had like a really bad stretchy feeling while benching. It's not like my wrists are bent but had to focus extra on keeping wrist straight.

DB rows were more like power rows. Bit off more than I can chew. 36 is rather manageable but the only DB available after that is 42 which is clearly too big off a jump.

Hands are a lot less sweaty due to the dry winter so grip is solid. But at the same time they are rather sensitive so grip anything with a good knurling makes my hands hurt real bad.

Love dem cross-body curls. Gives me an isane pump and rally makes the arms seem vascular.

[17mahmoods]

Tuesday 19/12/17
5/3/1
Cycle 3 Week 2 Day 1

BW:71.6kg/157.9lb.

WD: 64 minutes. No JS so saved a lot of time.

Squat
- 1x5 @78/172
- 1x5 @90/198
- 1x13 @102/225 Rep PR
//
Curls 3x10 @20/44
• Hit the target reps I was aiming for. My back and hands started going numb but my legs definitely had more in them, which was rather disappointing. Nothing to worry about as this just happens during high rep work and back can usually handle big weights when it's below 5 reps.

Pause Squats 3x5 @78/172
//
Leg Press Calf Raises 3x10-12

RDL 3x6 @110/243
//
Lateral Raises 3x10 @6/13

Reverse Lunges 3x10 @22/49
//
Hack Squat Calf Raises 3x20

Comments:
Pause Squats: tried out a wider stance and though reps felt harder they were very smooth. Also didn't feel them much in the quads.

RDL: Decided to actually not bitch out on these and use some real weight. Had to strap up as my grip is **** and I felt these quite a bit in my upper back so I was paranoid doing mixed grip as I fear the imbalances.

[sooby]

strong squatting and OHP here

[17mahmoods]

strong squatting and OHP here

All the gains are due to the programming and maybe some muscle memory since my diet is clearly ****.

[rectifryer]

So. Many. Pullups.

[17mahmoods]

So. Many. Pullups.

It's 5 reps with 17kg not 17 sets of 5 reps.

I did that for 5 sets only. Sorry about the misleading title.

[17mahmoods]

Thursday 21/12/17
5/3/1
Cycle 3 Week 2 Day 2

BW:71.4kg/157.4lb. Please stop fluctuating so much, weight

WD: ???. Forgot to see my start time.

Bench
- 1x5 @58/128
- 1x5 @68/150
- 1x12 @76/168 Rep PR
//
Face Pulls 3x15 @4
//
Rear Delt Fly 3x12
• Really wanted 13 but it just wasn't gonna happen. Failed the rep and had to do the roll of shame. First time I have ever failed a rep in this program.

Spoto Press 3x5 @58/128
//
DB Row 3x8 @36/79

BOR 4x8 @70/154
//
Seated DB Press 3x8 @24/53

Skull Crusher 3x10 @28/62
//
Preacher Curl 3x10 @6

Comments:
Despite the failed rep on bench the rest of the workout went pretty well and I was feeling stronger than usual.

Finished my workout early and had ten minutes to spare. It was either another set of arms or eat some road side food. I made the smarter choice as it's bulking season.

Was stretching last Tuesday and tweaked something at the right side of my lower back. There was a sharp pain and it scared the crap out of me as I haven't really ever pulled a muscle or tweaked anything. Actually have had ZERO injuries from lifting. I was rather rigid while walking and just went to bed hoping it would go away. Woke up with still the nagging pain. Skipped my workout and throughout the day just slowly stretched it out. This morning woke up without any pain which was relief. Didn't really feel any discomfort during while lifting as well. It was likely due to being extra tight from heavy RDLs. Just gotta start slow and ease in to the stretching.

[17mahmoods]

Saturday 23/12/17
5/3/1
Cycle 3 Week 2 Day 3+4

BW:71.7kg/158.1lb.

WD: 77 min.

Deadlift
- 1x5 @98/216
- 1x5 @112/247
- 1x5 @128/282
//
Lateral Raises 3x10 @6/13
• All belt less. Tried out the cues form the boys. Higher hips sure helped make the lift a lot smoother. Plus focusing on proper form on the eccentric helped lower stress on the erectors. Weight on last set felt a lot heavier than it did on the first two and it really fried my lower back.

OHP
- 1x5 @32/71
- 1x5 @38/84
- 1x10 @42/93
//
Pullups 3x5 @17/37

Front Squats 3x5 @72/159
//
Leg Press Calf Raises 3x20

Bench 3x5 @70/154
//
Kroc Rows 3x8 @36/79

Comments:
Had to squeeze in both workouts as have been rather busy this week. Been a while since I did fullbody and damn it was tough especially since there were so many big compounds.

Both upper and lower back were pretty fried by the time I got to Front Squats and that made it a lot harder than it should have been.

Bench was rather easy as I got a break in between.

Screw isolations I'm just glad I got my entire workout in for the week.

[pezking7p]

Thank god the back turned out to be nothing.

Always feels good to have a bit of a form breakthrough. Hope the street food was delicious.

[17mahmoods]

Thank god the back turned out to be nothing.

Always feels good to have a bit of a form breakthrough. Hope the street food was delicious.

First time for everything. Haven't stretch since. Gonna get started again with it tonight.

The slight tweaks make the biggest difference. All thanks to you guys.

Yeah street food here is the bomb. Cheap as hell, but at the same time rather unhygienic which adds to the flavor. You need to build immunity to it and someone who lived abroad too long, I get an upset stomach easily so can't eat it too often.

[17mahmoods]

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Family was over so couldn't go to the gym :'(

So just wanted to make a clarification for my future self and the few who actually bother reading these long entries.

Weight PR = All time heaviest weight lifted during 5/3/1 program
Rep PR = A weight for reps which is estimated to be close to my actual PR. For eg, PR is 100 and I get 85x5 which from the calc I use is 96.
AT Rep PR = Estimated 1RM is higher than ever before.

So I get Rep PRs quite often and didn't want there to be a misunderstanding that I was making actual PRs almost every other session.

Rep goals for 5/3/1+ week;

Squat: 6+ reps @114
Bench: 5+ reps @86
Dead lift: Work up to atleast a single at 158
OHP: Weight is too light so going to try to work up to 66x1

[17mahmoods]

Tuesday 26/12/17
5/3/1
Cycle 3 Week 3 Day 1

BW:72kg/158.7lb.

WD: 74 min.

Squat
- 1x5 @90/198
- 1x3 @102/225
- 1x9 @114/251 AT Rep PR
- 1x1 @122/269
- 1x1 @130/287 Weight PR
• Definetely some strong squats today. AMRAP set was an RPE 8.5. My ambitious goal for the day was 9 reps so I stopped there. 130 was unplanned and it moved fast, no grinding at all. Stopped it there as I didn't want to overreach. Skipped out on curls to focus on squats.

Pause Squats 3x5 @90/198
//
Calf Raises 3x20

RDL 1x6,2x5 @110/243
//
Upright Rows 3x10 @8

Reverse Lunges 3x14 @16/35
//
Calf Raises 3x15

Comments:
For some reason my heart starts racing and I get real anxious before my squat AMRAP sets. I'm happy as long as I get the reps.

Pause Squats were a grind after all them heavy squats.

RDL also felt heavier then it should have.

Though I was kinda burnt out after squats I'm really happy with the new PRs that I hit.

[sooby]

that's a lot of squatting brother, but 250 x 9 is really good

[wowter]

Nice PR's!

[17mahmoods]

Wednesday 27/12/17
5/3/1
Cycle 3 Week 3 Day 2

BW:71.8kg/158.3lb.

WD: 78 min.

Bench
- 1x5 @70/154
- 1x3 @76/168
- 1x8 @86/190 Rep PR
- 1x1 @92/203
- 1x1 @100/220 Weight PR
//
Rear Delt Fly 4x10
• Wanted 9 reps but didn't want to risk failure. 9 was the ambitious goal so I'm happy with 8. 100 moved well but I capped it there. I'm not to keen on doing the roll of shame with 100kg+.

Spoto Press 3x5 @70/154
//
Kroc Rows 3x8 @36/79

BOR 4x8 @70/154
//
Seated DB Press 3x8 @24/53

Skull Crushers 3x10 @28/62
//
Preacher Curl 3x8 @7

Comments:
Humidity is on the rise. Sweaty hands are back and slippery grip is too.

Really starting to hate BOR because of the crappy knurling on the bar. Probably going to switch them out for T-bar rows.

Not really feeling the triceps in skull crushers so might try something else.

Based on the PRs it's fair to say the program is clearly working. Atleast for bench, Squat and OHP. I have changed up things for deadlift, such as heavy singles on 5/3/1+ day and heavy RDLs just recently so it will take a while to see if it works.

that's a lot of squatting brother, but 250 x 9 is really good

BW is moving up and so is the squat. High squat volume seems to be working for me.

Nice PR's!

Thanks.

[pezking7p]

100x1.

You are now 17mahman!!

[17mahmoods]

100x1.

You are now 17mahman!!

I actually hit 100x1 almost a year ago. But that was when I only did bench and weight 80kg.

Had to let my bench stall for a while so my squat and dead would catch up, but it seems to have great improved still.

[17mahmoods]

Friday 29/12/17
5/3/1
Cycle 3 Week 3 Day 3

BW:71.8kg/158.3lb.

WD: ???

Deadlift
- 1x5 @112/247
- 1x3 @128/282
- 1x1 @142/313
- 1x1 @150/331
- 1x1 @158/348
• Far from a PR but still hit my goal. Deadlifts clearly have gone down so I'm happy with this. Hook gripped 142, grip was strong but still not confident with the grip, I feel like my thumb is going to rip off. LOL. Gonna have to keep trying and working up to heavier weights.

Front Squats 3x3 @84/185
//
Calf Raises 3x20

Leg Curls 3x8 @10
//
Shrugs 3x8 @104/229

Back Extensions 2x15 @BW
//
Calf Raises 2x15 @4

Comments:
Front Squats didn't go to great. Going to drop the intensity by 5%.

Shrugs were rather heavy too and I was doing half reps. Was probably due to the heavy DLs.

[pezking7p]

Does hook grip ever feel like it's not going to rip off your thumb? I've tried it a few times but didn't go through with it due to fear for my thumb.

[17mahmoods]

Does hook grip ever feel like it's not going to rip off your thumb? I've tried it a few times but didn't go through with it due to fear for my thumb.

I'm actually more concerned about dropping the bar and getting kicked out, I can always reattach my thumbs if needed. LOL

[17mahmoods]

Saturday 30/12/17
5/3/1
Cycle 3 Week 3 Day 4

BW:72.2kg/159.2lb.

WD: 68 min

OHP
- 1x5 @46/101
- 1x2 @52/115
- 1x1 @60/132
- 1x1 @67/148 Weight PR
//
Pullups 4x5 @17/37
• Rushed the PR set and didn't brace properly, so rep was shakier then I would like. Lower back had some mild soreness from yesterday so that put me off a little bit as well. Getting closer to that BW ohp.

Bench 3x5 @76/168
//
Krok Rows 3x8 @36/79

CGBP 3x8 @70/154
//
Seated Rows 3x10 @12

Hammer Curls 3x16 @16/35
//
Overhead Triceps Extension 3x10 @6

Comments:
Programming for pull-ups is going to be amrap set on last set and +1 kg each cycle.

CGBP, changed grip width as well as got the same tightness as I would have in bench. Weight moved up quite a bit.

[17mahmoods]

Maxes this cycle;
Bench: 87x8/192x8 ≈107/236 (Same as previous cycle)
Squat: 115x9/254x9 ≈146/322(+10kg from last cycle)
Deadlift: 158x1/348x1 ≈ 158/348(+6kg from last cycle)
OHP: 62x4/137x4 ≈ 68/160(+2kg from last last cycle)

Weight: 71.5-72.2

Everything including weight is going up yay. Feeling a lot less burnt out this cycle. I'm likely getting used to the workouts.

[jross2001]

Im doing 5/3/1 too brotha. I do BBB though but would you recommend other assistance work. For example my deadlifts workout may go like : 5/3/1 sets, 5x10 deadlifts, possibly 1-2 bi/tri sets, 5 sets of ab work.

[17mahmoods]

Im doing 5/3/1 too brotha. I do BBB though but would you recommend other assistance work. For example my deadlifts workout may go like : 5/3/1 sets, 5x10 deadlifts, possibly 1-2 bi/tri sets, 5 sets of ab work.

I wouldn't say I'm the best person to ask that since I do a bit too many accesories.
I believe wendler recommends to focus on the main lifts and supplemental work and do bare minimum for accesories.
1-2 sets for arms followed by abs seems to be the right approach.
I would also throw in some face-pulls/ band pull aparts.