Bench Day - C13W2. 01-24-2013

Bench
3x155
3x186
3x200
------------
5x10x110

Better than last week. 5x10 was cake. Might do 60% next cycle.

Pullups
5x10


Kroc Rows
25x75 per arm

Squat Day - C13W2. 01-25-2014

Squat
3x270
3x310
4x350
-----------
5x10x191 (was supposed to be 193, doubt it makes much of a difference).

I've been trying to fix my issue of craning the neck. I was able to look downward today, but still need to work on packing my neck back more. I had a little bit of a good morning going on in my last rep.



ab wheel rollouts
5x10

Been pausing my rollouts for 3 counts btw.

Press Day - C13W3. 01-27-2014

Press
5x110
3x125
2x140
---------------
5x10x73 (50%)

Wanted 3 reps, but I'll take it. Form should have been better - couldn't quite get locked in with my "squeeze the biceps" cue. 5x10 was very easy, I'm thinking about trying 55% next cycle.

Chinups
81 reps across 10 sets.

Dips
9, 8, 8, 6, 5

Shoulder was basically pain free on dips today. Solid improvement over last week.

Deadlift Day - C13W3. 01-28-2013

Deadlift
5x310
3x350
2x390
------------
5x10x205

Went for 3 but didn't even get the bar off the ground. I've never got the bar off the ground and failed a rep before, so I think that's my weak point.


Hanging Leg raises
5x10


Diamond Pushups
4x20
1x13

Went for 5x20 this time. Might switch it up from diamonds to another grip next cycle. Been doing diamonds for a few months now.

Bench Day - C13W3. 01-30-2013

Bench
5x165
3x191
2x210
------------
5x10x110

Wanted 2 and got it. Bench felt real good this week and my failures on week 1 are a thing of the past.

Pullups
5x10


Kroc Rows
30x75 per arm

Gonna do 80lbs next cycle.

[QUOTE=Colombo;41923283]Squat Day - C13W2. 01-25-2014

Squat
5x291
3x330
1x370
-----------
5x10x193

I wanted 2, and there's a chance I could have had it. I gave about 99% like a bitch. If I eek out that last 1% of effort I think I have a good chance. New PR at least


ab wheel rollouts
5x10

DB Curls
20, 13 @20lb (per arm).

Second time I've done curls in 5 years. I just felt like doing some today. Got a sick pump in my arms but I felt pretty foolish otherwise. I'll probably keep them in though and try to add some mass to my arms.

Did some snowboarding this weekend for the first time in almost 2 years. I got quite sore, hopefully it won't impact my training too much.


Deload Week.

Press Day - C13W4. 02-03-2014
5x60
5x75
5x90


Deadlift Day - C13W4. 02-04-2014
5x164
5x206
5x250


Bench Day - C13W4. 02-05-2014
5x90
5x110
5x135


Squat Day - C13W4. 02-06-2014
5x154
5x196
5x235


End of Cycle 13.


Cycle 14 Training Maxes:
Press: 150 (+5)
Deadlift: 420 (+10)
Bench: 225 (+5)
Squat: 390 (+5)

Press Day - C14W1. 02-10-2014

Press
5x100
5x115
5x130
----------------
5x10x83 (55%)

These were tough. My BBB sets were a little sloppy. Need to stay tighter.

Chinups
87 reps across 10 sets.

I should probably add weight to these...

Dips
8, 6, 5, 5, 5

Felt a little uncomfortable but not too bad.

Deadlift Day - C14W1. 02-11-2014

Deadlift
5x275
5x315
6x360
----------------
5x10x210 (50%)

My grip was **** today. Couldn't even do 315 w/o chalk. Other than that, these felt good. I have this weird issue where my left leg ends up a little more in the center of the bar than my right leg. I'm finding it annoying to fix.

Hanging Leg Raises
5x10

Pullups (+10kg)
wide grip - 20 reps
normal grip - 14
close grip - 6 (plate slipped off back)
diamond grip - 7

Did these to failure. Gonna rotate the order of these on a W2W basis.


DB Flys
4x12x15


I think my chest is a weak point right now, so I've adjusted my assistance to try to improve my strength there. Added some weight to my pushups and changed up my hand placement. I also added in some DB flys, and am planning on doing them on bench day as well.

Bench Day - C14W1. 02-13-2014

Bench
5x150
5x170
3x196
----------------
5x10x135 (60%)

****! That's 2 cycles in a row I've only got 3 reps on 5/5/5 day. It's weird, I can't figure this out.

Last cycle I got 3 reps on 3/3/3 day and 2 reps on 5/3/1. Judging by that, you would think that I'm weak at benching for volume. However, the 5x10 is far easier than my other lifts 5x10 - the 60% flew right up.


It's like I'm hitting some unfortunate volume/weight combo that's giving me trouble. Unlike last cycle, I'm not going to increase my max until I hit the 5 reps.

edit - Could be I'm not resting enough... (2-3 mins between final and penultimate set)

Pullups (+20kg)
6x3
3x2

These went much better than I thought. I had been doing 20x5 and recently changed to 5x10. Finally added some weight and got some nice reps in.


DB Flys
4x12x15


Kroc Rows
26x80 per hand.

Form should be better.

2nd rep when squatting 370: was totally convinced you had it!

Dunno if it's possible to be any closer without completing, so seems like you have a great shot at it.

Serious work in here

Thanks Mariogs.



Squat Day - C14W1. 02-14-2014

Squat
5x255
5x296
6x335
----------------
5x10x196 (50%)

My goal was an ambitious 7, but I didn't have the balls to go for it since 6 was such a grind. I'm quite satisfied with these results. BBB was brutal today.

Barbell curls
4x12x45
20x45

Ab Wheel Rollouts
5x10 (3 sec pause)

Press Day - C14W2. 02-17-2014

Press
3x105
3x120
4x135
----------------
5x10x83 (55%)

My first rep of 135 was really tough. I definitely used momentum to help with the following 3 reps. I'm a tad concerned about putting up 145 next week. BBB sets were really easy.

Chinups (+20kg)
31 reps across 10 sets

First time doing weighted chins. Pretty good.

Dips
7, 8, 10, 7, 7

Felt good. I uploaded a video because I'm not sure if my form sucks or not.

Not a dip expert, but i think you want to keep your head in line with your spine a touch more

DL workouts first thing in the morning are always tough, but today went well.

Deadlift Day - C14W2. 02-18-2014

Deadlift
3x296
3x340
3x380
----------------
5x10x210 (50%)

Maybe had a 4th rep in the tank, didn't push it though.

Hanging Leg Raises
5x10

Pushups (+10kg)
normal - 23
close - 11
diamond - 10
wide - 14

DB Flys
4x12x15

Bench Day - C14W2. 02-20-2014

Bench
3x160
3x181
2x206
----------------
5x10x135 (60%)

It's probably time to reset my bench. I played around with my setup today and it didn't help any. I need to work on my feet positioning.

I'll go for the 1x215 next week and see how it goes. If I succeed I might try this cycle again. Otherwise it's reset time.

the 5x10x60% went up easy as hell again. My bench has me so frustrated right now. Why is it my worst pure 5/3/1 lift but easily my best BBB lift?


Pullups (+20kg)
32 reps across 10 sets.


DB Flys
4x12x20


Kroc Rows
26x80 per hand.

Bench took me the longest to actually get "correct" and I still don't feel I have it all figured out.

So much going on with the breathing, shoulder blades, arch, tightness of abs, legs, grip, back. All this crap going on, it drives you crazy when first learning. Def gets to be second nature soon enough

Then you throw in leg drive and you're like CMON MAN

Bench is stupid. I never felt really solid at it until I got some coaching from guys I lift with regularly. Another thing I think helped a bit was I stopped doing the same stupid accessory stuff every time. I used to do a ton of pushdowns and really nothing else, maybe some db bench. Recently I've added in a few more things. Some anecdotal evidence of it working is my pushdowns are way stronger than ever after a long break from them too, on top of bench feeling strong.

DFII posted something a few months back I liked and I'm going to try if I do 5/3/1 bench again is to do the AMRAP all the way down the 3 sets.

Yeah, bench is a bitch. I'm quickly finding it to be the most technically difficult lift for me. I had been dismissing it as a "bro" exercise for too long, but there's actually a ton going on there.


I think you make a good point about the assistance exercises. I've fallen in love with a few of them and basically haven't changed anything in about a year. I think that's worth doing.



I did some research last night and came away feeling very prepared to attack the upcoming cycles of 5/3/1. One principle I learned from the mental game of poker is that you're only as strong as your weakest link. I'm going to try to adopt that principle to powerlifting and start strengthening my sticking points.

Here's a phenomenal article on t-nation about sticking points and what needs to be strengthened in order to blast through them.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._point_therapy

My sticking points are:
Bench: 2-3 inches off chest [weak point: anterior delts]
Squat: a foot above the hole [weak point: quads]
Deadlift: breaking the floor [weak point: quads]

I'll do some research over the next week and try to find some assistance to improve my quad strength. The dips+DB flys that I recently added in should help with my anterior delts for bench.


One other observation on my bench is that I've been benching with a 'touch-and-go' style. I think a good plan would be to drastically reset my bench (~80%), and switch to a style where I pause every rep for a second or two. I think the touch-and-go style has allowed me to get by without developing much 'off the chest' strength. I'm also hoping to do my first meet in may, so it's worth learning the pause for that.

Squat Day - C14W2. 02-14-2014

Squat
3x275
3x315
5x355
----------------
5x10x196 (50%)

Some of my best squats ever. I think my squats have been responding pretty well to BBB. I'm excited to go for 375 next week.


Barbell curls
4x12x55


Ab Wheel Rollouts
5x10 (3 sec pause)

Front squats are the answer to the quads issue imo. Maybe a few cycles of BBB front squats would be a way of getting in the quality work without disrupting your program too much.

Maybe some paused and/or speed benching would help your muscles learn to accelerate the bar through that weak zone? Another idea might be some board or towel presses.

Definitely work on pauses. I'm not an expert by any means but you can probably get by with pausing first+last rep or first two reps or something without a huge reset relatively close to a meet.

Front squats were on my mind. I might cut out deadlift BBB and do them on deadlift day, while still doing BBB back squat on squat day. Hopefully that's not too much squat work.


I did some more bouldering over the weekend. I went something like 10/10 on V1's that I attempted and was also able to complete 1-3 V2's as well. I'm definitely getting better. I still need to work on my finger grip strength and footwork. My left elbow started flaring up while climbing - the same one that gave me problems when I started this log about a year ago. Hopefully nothing to worry about.


Ordered a rumble roller over the weekend as well. Should be here Thursday

Press Day - C14W3. 02-24-2014

Press
5x115
3x130
3x145
----------------
5x10x83 (55%)

I was worried about getting 1x145 so I'm very happy with these results. I brought my grip in a tad so that my thumbs were on the edge of the knurling and my initial push felt alot stronger.

I paused every rep of the BBB sets which added some extra difficulty. Actually only got 8 reps on my final set but just rested for 15 seconds and banged out 2 more reps.


Chinups (+20kg)
35 reps across 10 sets

Dips
7, 7, 7, 5, 5

I followed the dip instructions from Supple Leopard. Felt some work being done by my rear delts for the first time.

My patella tendonitis really acted up today for the first time in almost a year. It hurt to the touch when I touched below my knee. It's the first time I've done DeFranco's Agile 8 so it could be related.


Deadlift Day - C1432. 02-25-2014

Deadlift
5x315
3x360
2x400
----------------
5x10x210 (50%)

These felt great today. 400 is a milestone I've been chasing for awhile.



Hanging Leg Raises
5x10

Pushups (+25lbs)
close - 17
diamond - 15
normal - 13
wide - 10


DB Flys
4x12x20