Second rep of the first set did look like it could fall forward, but it didn't look like you were in any real danger, and I think it's possible you felt like you might fall forward because, like you said, you were tired. First reps of both sets looked solid.

I agree that it can help to have a workout partner giving you immediate feedback(assuming the workout partner has a clue; see the difference in my squats when loco was present vs my fatty friend in recent bench video).

Thanks for the input. I think I have the losing it forward thing in my head when the weights get heavy, causing my mind to exaggerate the instances where it starts to happen. I think I need to just keep squatting until I think my strength is going instead of going by form feel. Form feel seems to be unreliable lately.

As for gym partner, I won't be getting one. I know a bunch of people that are great at keeping you honest WRT form but 2 things are keeping me from that:
1. Nobody in that category wants to workout with me in the morning.
2. I don't want to become reliant on external inputs WRT form. I think that can be a bad thing when doing competitions.

Today's workout

5/3/1 Cycle 3, week 3

Bench: 95 kg (209.4 lbs) x 5; 107.5 kg (237 lbs) x 3; 120 kg (264.6 lbs) x 3 x 2, set 1, set 2
Facepulls
Hammer Curls

I have no idea what happened to the video of 95 kg set. I watched it right after the set. Went to watch it again after the 107.5 set and it was gone. Guess I accidentally deleted it. It felt easy though, so no big deal. My left arm felt really solid today during the workout. Hoping I am turning a corner in that issue. Didn't bench last week, so I am pretty happy with getting 2 sets of 3 at 120 kg.

Going to DL tomorrow morning. I am not going to Press Friday morning, but going in after work Friday instead. A bunch of guys are going to be working out at that time and I am going to work with them. Not sure what they are doing, but I know at least one is squatting. 2 of the guys competed at the Arnold this year and are going to Worlds (Matt Baller - the bench monster and Rob Schmidt who is competing as a master). One of the other guys has competed at Nationals (smaller, maybe about 181 or so). Should be a good time.

Just looked back through my log. This seems like it was the first workout where I benched 120 kg for reps. I have done 120 kg x 1 x 4 a couple times, but no multiple rep sets. Looking at the video I may have had another rep in me on these sets, but not sure. I think my goal will be to get 4-5 reps in my next week 3 bench day, which should set me up nicely for a 300 lb bench at the meet on 26 April.

Today's workout

5/3/1 Cycle 3, week 3

DL: 162.5 kg (358.3 lbs) x 5; 185 kg (407.9 lbs) x 3; 207.5 kg (457.5 kg) x 2, x 1?
Shrugs
BB Rows

Felt pretty good today. Used chalk on the 162.5 kg set, chalk with wrist wraps on the 185 set, and belt, chalk, and wrist wraps on the 207.5 sets. Not sure if I fully locked out the x1 rep. Thumbs are a little beat up after this workout. Probably a good thing that next week is a deload week so they get a break.

GGO: There are a few high school kids that come in randomly in the morning. Looks like their fathers come in and "coach" them, but not 100% it is their fathers. 2 Older guys, may be their coaches. They don't come into the powerlifting room ever, just stay out in the olytard/crossfit area. I actually saw their workout today and wanted to go smack the fathers, but I'm guessing they just don't know any better. They had the kids warmup doing some silly stuff with kettlebells: things like "reverse swings" - holding the kb behind their ass and then moving almost like you would doing a swing. They then loaded up bars to do squats. No warmup squats, just straight into high rep 1 plate squats (for the small guy, the other 2 had more on the bar). P-Pad in full affect along with going up onto toes on the way down and stopping ~6" high. Kept my mouth shut and just did my work.

Today's workout

5/3/1 Cycle 3, week 3

Press: 72.5 kg (159.8 lbs) x 5; 82.5 kg (181.9 lbs)x 3; 90 kg (198.4 lbs) x 1+F, x 2, x 1

Went to workout after work today. It was busy, but the powerlifting area had a spot for me. The 72.5 and 82.5 felt strong and fast. The first rep at 90 felt good, went for a second and didn't have it in me. Decided to do the second set of 90 with a belt. Went for a second rep on the second set and got it locked out. Probably a bit crappy form, but I don't care. No knee bend and no downward motion of the bar. Just went for 1 rep on the last set. Had time so I figured I would do a third attempt. Feeling good about it. Feeling good about this week. All heavy sets this week were the first time I got any of those weights for more than a single.

The rest of the time I was spotting for the squatters I went to meet there. Rob Schmidt was scheduled for 220 kg x 2 x 7. On the 7th set he did 4 reps instead. Ross Lepalla, who weighs 187 lbs) was testing his max. He got 545 lbs and looked like he had more in him. Matt Baller did a bunch of 5 rep sets. Not sure what he did before, but his last 5 rep set was at 618 lbs. He then did a triple at about 648. Pretty impressive lifting going on there today.

DLs look mostly good, but your back/core are not as tight as they could be.

Unless they ask you, keeping your mouth shut in situations like yesterday is always right.

Yeah, I thought the same on the DLs. I know what I did yesterday is the correct play, it is just frustrating seeing that.

yeah, I agree

Today's workout

5/3/1 Cycle 3, week 4

Squat: 85 kg (187.4 lbs) x 5; 105 kg (231.5 lbs) x 5; 130 kg (286.6 lbs) x 5
Bench: 50 kg (110.2 lbs) x 5; 62.5 kg (137.8 lbs) x 5; 75 kg (165.3 lbs) x 5
Hammer Curls
Facepulls

This was a straight forward workout. It has been hard motivating myself to get to the gym this week due to it being a deload week where all the weights are usually just warmups for me. I know my body needs it, but it is still hard mentally to get up and get into the gym. My calcs called for 127.5 kg on the last squat set, but just threw 15 kg plates on and called it good. No videos of any lifts today as I am not worried about losing form at these weights. This ended up being a cardio workout as I took no rests between sets other than to load the bar and I got all reps of every set on 1 breath per set (squat and bench). I usually take a breath after every squat rep and after 1-3 reps on bench.

Figure I will combine the 4 workouts into 2 to cut down on how many times I have to get up early this week. Next workout is Friday.

Today's workout

5/3/1 Cycle 4, week 1

Squat: 140 kg (308.6 lbs) x 5; 162.5 kg (358.3 lbs) x 5; 182.5 kg (402.3 lbs) x 6, x 5

Knowing that I was going to be using a decent amount of weights today, I was excited to go to the gym again. Deload weeks suck, but I think it helped me out. I may have been able to do another rep on each set, but I stopped where I did due to feeling that I was losing form. Reps felt fairly good today. I'm happy that unracking the 182.5 felt light, not heavy like it used to.

Here is my week 1 of the cycle leading up to my last meet. I went 175 kg x 5 x 2 during that workout. Today was 7.5 kg heavier and I got a 6 rep set in there. I am feeling really good right now, both physically and mentally. I think a 227.5 kg squat is very realistic. Hoping that it will feel lighter than a true 1RM at the meet. I don't think I will be shooting for a higher squat than that at this meet. I want to finally get a 500 lb squat in a meet and would rather go for a sure thing this time than possibly miss a heavier one.

Today's workout

5/3/1 Cycle 4, week 1

Bench: 82.5 kg (181.9 lbs) x 5; 95 kg (209.4 lbs) x 5; 107.5 kg (237 lbs) x 7
Facepulls
Hammer Curls

My left pec and bicep were feeling a bit off the whole workout. Didn't do a second set at 107.5 to play it safe. Realized after this workout that I am repeating the same weights as last cycle. No big deal as I think my bench is lagging anyways. Got 2 more reps this time, so there is some progress.

I didn't go to the gym today. I was just too tired and decided to sleep in. I will go in tomorrow to DL and probably Press on Saturday.

Biggest reason to post: Kayle is going to compete in this month's USAPL comp. She was supposed to be going to a prom that night, but it got moved to the weekend after. She asked this past weekend if I thought she could get back into the gym and be able to compete. 3 weeks of actual training, plus an additional singles session the week of the meet. Last night was her 2nd session back. Seems like she is picking it back up fairly quickly. Did an easy SS session with 35 kg squats, 27.5 kg bench, and 55 kg DL. Probably going up another 5 kg in squat and DL tomorrow and 2.5 in bench. Form is a little bit rusty, but I have gotten her to squat correctly. Bench is always an ongoing battle for her. She is also battling form in the DL. She constantly is trying to change the DL into a squat. I am working on it with her. It is weird. She will do it correctly and state that she is feeling it more in her posterior chain and not in the quads. I said that is what you should be doing every time. Goes right back to squat form DLs (shoving knees forward during setup). I have been calling her out on it and we are attacking that aggressively. Still made all of the DLs look easy though.

Today's workout

DL: 145 kg (319.7 lbs) x 5; 167.5 kg (369.3 lbs) x 5; 187.5 kg (413.4 lbs) x 5
Press: 65 kg (143.3 lbs) x 5; 75 kg (165.3 lbs) x 5; 82.5 kg (181.9 lbs) x 5, x 4


Woke up this morning feeling good about going to the gym. I wasn't hungry, so this workout was fasted. I don't think that bothered my workout at all. While warming up, I realized that I hadn't been foam rolling my upper back at all during my last 2 workouts. I did that today. I also focused on my shoulder and pec with the lacrosse ball to see if that helped out my issues. My pec/shoulder/bicep/elbow issue did not bother me at all during my workout. Really happy with that. I will try to keep that in mind going forward.

I definitely over-extended my back (leaned too far back, not sure if proper term for that or not) on the first set. I saw that while watching the playback on my phone. I tried to stop doing that during my next sets. I was spent after the 182.5 set, so I called it there. I wanted to do more, but I don't think that would have been beneficial as I'm sure my form would have broken down.

Made the decision to do press instead of accessories, as I knew my left arm issues were not going to bother me during them today. I'm not sure I could have gotten any more reps on the first set of 82.5. While waiting for my second set I decided to try and do a set with my belt and do TNG for the whole set. I don't remember the last time I used a belt for a Press set (other than 1RM testing). I think I will start doing this going forward. First set will be no belt and paused. Second set will be with belt and TNG. One thing I need to focus on during that last set is taking a breath at the bottom after 2-3 reps. I did all 4 reps on one breath, took a breath at the top, and struggled with the 5th rep. I'm not counting the 5th rep as I definitely came up on my toes during the lift.

Overall I am happy with today's workout. It did point out that I need to start doing KB swings again and I need to get out walking again. I was sucking wind after the last DL set and struggled with my breathing during my last set of Press. Will work on that going forward.

Today's workout

5/3/1 Cycle 4, week 2

Squat: 150 kg (330.7 lbs) x 3; 172.5 kg (380.3 lbs) x 3; 192.5 kg (424.4 lbs) x 4 x 2, set 1, set 2
KB Swings
Weighted Planks

Woke up this morning feeling really good and energized. Figured I would do tomorrow's squat workout today so I don't have to get up early tomorrow morning. Really glad I decided to go do the squats today. Got 192.5 kg x 4 x 2 today, which I believe is a PR. May have done it during the Smolov base Cycle that I did a while ago. Will need to look into it. It is definitely the most I have done while on 5/3/1.

Thank you BustoRhymes.


It is now 3 weeks from yesterday to the meet. Need to start thinking about 3rd attempt selections. I will base my openers and seconds off of my 3rd attempt goals. Probably somewhere between 15 and 20 kg between attempts, as I liked it last time. I'm pretty sure I want 137.5 kg for bench and 230 kg for DL. The biggest question for me is squat. I want to PR in Squat. 227.5 kg will do that (meet PR), but am thinking I can make 230-232.5 kg. I think I have tried and failed 227.5 kg in a meet before, but I know I had tried 225 and failed before last meet where I made it.

Do I shoot for 227.5 to get over the hump, or should I try and go for 230-232.5? I understand that it depends on meet day feels, but I like to start get mentally prepared on what a feeling great day goal should be.

FYIs: The next meet after this one will be the end of August. I should be able to get 4 more cycles of training between meets. Right now I am leaning towards 227.5 to get over the hump. If you guys feel like that isn't a great plan, I would like to hear it.

I would go for 232.5. That way if you don't feel good at the meet you can drop to 227.5. I think it's tougher to jump up 5 kilos if you plan for 227.5 and are feeling good

Weasel: Yes, planning on going higher and then lowering is a lot easier planning for lower and going heavier. That much I figured, but I'm thinking of 2 possible mindsets:

A. Go in looking to get 227.5 kg. This would be to get over the 500 lb in meet hump, no possibility of going higher than that.
B. Go in looking to get closer to a true 1RM (230-232.5 kg or so) with the possibility of going lower if necessary.

I think they are 2 different mindsets prior to the third attempt. I'm guessing you are still going to say go with B, just wondering if I should go for a slight meet PR or for a closer 1RM.

Which will make you feel worse?

a) crush 227.5
b) miss 232.5

You've already squatted 500 before right? I would still go with b and try and get a true 1rm

Kind of a toss up IMO. If a, I would be pissed that I left weight on the platform. If b, I would be pissed that I can't assess my strength levels properly.

I did 500 in 2012 after a smolov base cycle, but not in competition. I know I can do 500 right now and think I can do a bit more. The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards going for the 230-232.5, with 227.5 as a backup.

Today's workout

Modified 5/3/1 Cycle 4, week 2

Bench: 90 kg (198.4 lbs) x 3; 102.5 kg (226.0 lbs) x 3; 115 kg (253.5 lbs) x 5, x 6
Hammer Curls

Fairly straight forward session today. Left shoulder/pec bothered me a little, but not so much that I felt cutting the session short was necessary. Still think it is a tight pec and tight back of the shoulder issue. I need to continue lax ball rolling and foam rolling as it seems to be helping out.

Bench reps were all paused through the first 3 of the first 115 set. The second 115 set was with belt and all tng. You can actually see that I do have an arch when I wear the belt. After doing this with the press I figured I would try it with the bench. I liked it and think I will start doing this moving forward.

No facepulls today due to the high school (maybe middle school?) kids and their dads using the cable station when I was done benching. Went over and did my hammer curls and they were still using the station. No biggie. I will try to hit it on Thursday or Friday.

Today's workout

Modified 5/3/1 Cycle 4, week 2

DL: 155 kg (341.7) lbs x 3; 177.5 kg (391.3 lbs) x 3; 200 kg (440.9 lbs) x 3 x 2, set 1, set 2
Press: 70 kg (154.3 lbs) x 3; 77.5 kg (170.9 lbs) x 3; 87.5 kg (192.9 lbs) x 5, x 3

Forgot to set my alarm yesterday morning and didn't get a workout in. After DLs I decided to do the press workout as well so I didn't have to go to the gym tomorrow morning. DLs were ok. Was using my lower back to finish the lift on the 155 set. Tried to focus on using ass instead. The last 3 sets felt better on my lower back.

Really happy with how the press went, especially after the DL sets. I didn't give myself enough rest between the first and second set of 87.5 kg as I needed to start heading out to get ready for work. I think I may have had another rep in me if I waited a little. I tried for the fourth rep, but realized that I wasn't going to make it/it would be a super grind so I bailed early on it. My shoulder and elbow were feeling really good and didn't want to screw something up by trying to push through the fourth rep.

Next week is my last training week pre-meet. Not sure what I am going to do on Press day. I plan on doing the squat, bench and DL days as scheduled. All of these days will be above my currently planned openers. I may try to do a 1RM test on Press instead of the scheduled 1+. Probably won't decide until Press day.