Don't you love when a lift gets better after months of not doing it? That's what has happened with my presses and DL recently. Good decision to reduce volume in the near-term and you can work up that 5x10. Are weighted dips an option?

Yeah, weighted dips are an option.

I'm not really sure what the optimal plan is for chins/pullups/dips going forward to be honest.

I've been doing 100 reps (20x5) of chins and pullups on mondays and thursdays, respectively. I'm seeing results. However it might be better to try to do 5x10 and then start adding weight to them.

As for dips once I can hit 5x10 I think I'll start adding weight immediately.

Bench Day - C12W3. 1-02-2014

Bench
5x165
3x186
2x205
Last Cycle: 1 Rep, Difference: +1

I got some tips from the form check thread on my bench, and it seems like it worked! Thank you udbrky and kidcolin!

The two things I changed were:
1) I kept my heels on the ground
2) I didn't tuck my elbows as much

My first rep at 205 felt strong as hell and went up quick. My 2nd rep was slower, and also my feet weren't as grounded. My gym's floor is slippery and it's tough to get a good grip on the floor. I'll figure it out eventually. I will say that I felt less stable/tight with my heels on the ground because I am not able to coil up as much. But the results speak for themselves.

Reducing my elbow tuck allowed me to engage my shoulders better.


Pullups
5x10

My gym was closing early today so I went with 5x10 instead of 20x5. I think 5x10 was more difficult

Kroc Rows
23x80 per hand

I dropped the weight on my Krocs (had been at 100 lbs for awhile). I realized that I was using too much momentum with 100 lbs and was engaging my legs too much - almost push-rowing it up. I decided to drop down and focus on better form.

Squat Day - C12W3. 01-03-2014

Squat
5x286
3x325
3x365
Last Cycle: 2 Rep, Difference: +1

My first ever 2x bodyweight squat (2.02 to be exact), and I was able to get 3 reps this time too! I ate a larger-than-normal lunch today, which probably helped, but I'm feeling goooood right now. I'm bumping this **** up by 5 lbs next cycle.

I'm always looking to improve. Let me know if you see any corrections I could make:


Lunges
5x10x50 per leg

Ab Wheel rollouts
5x10

Deload Week.

Press Day - C12W4. 01-06-2014
5x60
5x72
5x88


Deadlift Day - C12W4. 01-07-2014
5x164
5x206
5x247


Bench Day - C12W4. 01-09-2014
5x90
5x110
5x130


Squat Day - C12W4. 01-10-2014
5x154
5x191
5x230


End of Cycle 12.

I've decided I'm done with my cut. It's kind of sad, as I was really enjoying cutting. It's cool to wake up every morning and look better than you did yesterday. That being said, my weight has been at maintenance for the last 3 weeks, and I'm not really interested in reducing my calories any further. At 6'0 180, I definitely don't need to lose any more weight either.


Here are my final cutting stats:

Start date: 4/30/2013
End date: 1/12/2014
Weight Lost: 39 pounds
5/3/1 Training Max Changes: Press (-15), Bench (0), Squat (+10), Deadlift (+20)



I will be slowly bulking for at least the next 16 weeks and then I will re-evaluate. My plan for bulking will be the same as my plan for cutting in that I will only change what I eat for breakfast and nothing else. While cutting I had 2 scoops of whey + water for breakfast every morning. Starting today I will be having 2 scoops of whey + whole milk + peanut butter + banana every morning. That should give me a nice, but not outrageously high, caloric surplus.

I will also be switching back to the Boring But Big assistance for 531. I'm very excited about this, since I was only able to do 3 cycles of BBB before I started cutting. I'm expecting to see my press and bench shoot up as I think they could both benefit from more volume.

Time to get strong!

Elite cut dude. Time to get strong.

Squats look pretty good. Just pack the neck and keep your chest up so you're less good morningy. Elbows down at the bottom works for me as a cue.

Tate's 'So you think you can bench' series has a little part on figuring out foot positioning. Basically you do a glute bridge on the bench, take note of the pressure/tightness in your upperback and then try to recreate that feeling with feet on the floor.

Wow....awesome work. WTF at -40 BW and + 10 & 20 to Squat and DL. Pretty damn impressive.

Sounds like a solid plan. I think when you get to weighted, something SS style, i.e. 3x5 for linear progression workout to workout, is probably OK to get acclimated to the weighted aspect.

I have no clue what to tell anyone for low bar squats anymore, just wanted to say that I was surprised you got that for a triple after watching the first rep. Nice work!

Thanks for the compliments, feedback, and tips, guys.

First day back on BBB.

Press Day - C13W1. 01-13-2014

Press
5x95
5x110
5x125
5x10x73 (50%)

I decided to bump up my press training max by 5 pounds this cycle which may have been a mistake, because my worksets were hard - I almost failed. But I didn't. I should be fine moving forward.

The BBB sets went pretty well. I came extremely close to failing on my final set, but I was able to tough it out. My shoulders are FRIED right now. Afterwards, I could barely lift the 2.5lb plates above my head to re-rack them. It feels good. I haven't felt the effects of pushing myself to the limits in about 9 months.


Chinups
71 reps across 10 sets.

Now that I've added BBB back in I've ditched doing 20x5 in the interest of saving time. I'm going to do 10 sets from now on, 2 sets each for my 5 different grips.

Dips
3x5

These didn't feel that comfortable today so I took it easy.

Deadlift Day - C13W1. 01-14-2013

Deadlift
5x270
5x311
6x350
------------
5x10x205

These were so incredibly exhausting. My shin is nice and bloody too. Gonna go to bed early tonight.


Hanging Leg raises
5x10


Diamond Pushups
3x18
1x10

Was going for 5x18 but completely collapsed.

sick grind on the squats! look good for a 3RM imo

Bench Day - C13W1. 01-16-2013

Bench
5x145
5x165
3x191 (fail)
------------
5x10x110

Wow. Really bad fail here. I should have got 4 reps but the bar was going incredibly slow and I tipped the bar, causing all the weights to slide off.

The 5x10 was incredibly easy. The bar shot up and I didn't rest that long in between sets.

I think that I failed 5x191 because I was not tight enough in my setup. I'm still getting used to keeping my heels on the ground, and I felt much tighter during my 5x10 setups. For this reason I will not be resetting my bench unless I fail next week as well. I'm confident I can do 5x191, I just had a bad day.


Pullups
5x10


Kroc Rows
21x75 per arm

Still trying to eliminate all leg movement during krocs. Almost there.


Side note:
I ordered a new pair of Chucks and they came in the mail today. I'll be using them for squats tomorrow. I've been lifting (on and off) in the same pair of Chucks since 2009. They are so beat up at this point and the sole is getting worn out. There's alot of sentimental value there. Gonna be sad to get rid of them

Man, that was the perfect time to order a pair of proper lifting shoes. I almost remarked on it after watching your last vid.

lol. you could tell from the vid they were worn out? Hopefully I notice the difference tomorrow

Nah, I couldnt tell they were worn out. I did notice they were chucks and that it might be worth upgrading to real shoes - best $$ spent on training gear imo.

What? I thought Chucks were close to the GOAT shoe for powerlifting. What would you suggest?

I have weightlifting shoes but the raised heel sucks for what I want to do.

interesting, i much prefer squatting in raised heel shoes. i wear chucks for dls, or just go barefoot, depending on whether i squatted first or not.

Do you squat high bar? High or front squat and I prefer heels, but with low bar I like the flat-soled chucks. I might try the oly shoes again sometime. It's been a loooong time since I've used them (SS newb back then).

I like my oly shoes even though I go low bar only because they make me feel more glued to the ground.

Squat Day - C13W1. 01-17-2013

Squat
5x255
5x291
6x330
-----------
5x10x193

New shoes felt good. Squats felt alright. Need to get tighter. My torso got a little tired/relaxed during BBB. Took a really cold shower when I got home. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow.


ab wheel rollouts
5x10

Like Rudi, I squat low bar in heeled shoes. Maybe I should try out chucks again at some point.

Did some more climbing today. Still sticking to bouldering for now. My climbing skills have kinda hit a plateau, probably because I don't go often enough.

Today I wasn't able to complete any V2's, but mainly put a ton of focus into a V0 -> V1 problem that was largely on an overhang. I came a fingers length away from completing it, and it tired me out real quick. My core was absolutely worked from trying to keep my feet on the wall during the overhang. My abs are sore as F right now. Good workout

Finally get to update this. My gym was closed for MLK day and I've been itching to get back into it.

Press Day - C13W2. 01-21-2014

Press
3x105
3x120
4x135
5x10x73 (50%)

These felt really good today. I focused on getting my forearms more vertical and making sure my elbows were under the bar. A good cue for this imo is "squeeze the biceps". I felt a difference, and will be working on this in the future.

5x10 was way easier than last week and my legs were more sore than my arms afterwards (which I think is a sign of good form).


Chinups
80 reps across 10 sets.

Dips
6, 8, 8, 7, 6.

My shoulder hurt a little bit on the first set, but I kept going and made some slight form adjustments and it didn't hurt on the subsequent sets. My two main adjustments were to add a little elbow flare (I was trying to tuck my elbows as much as possible) and to focus on going slower on the descent. Still trying to figure this out as slowly and safely as possible.

Deadlift Day - C13W2. 01-22-2013

Deadlift
3x291
3x330
4x370
------------
5x10x205

Right trap got a little sore during these. I'm happy to continue going beyond the required reps during my AMRAP set.

Hanging Leg raises
5x10

My abs were exhausted here. Still recovering from rock climbing a few days ago, I think.


Diamond Pushups
4x17
1x16

Wanted 5x17 and missed it by 1.