I was extremely sick last week and didn't lift at all. I had a temperature between 102-103 for five days straight and also caught bronchitis. My diet was horrible over the week - probably < 2k cals and <100g protein every day. Needless to say, I didn't feel that strong on my first day back in the gym.

Press - C20W3. 08-18-2014
5x110
3x125
2x140

CGBP - 5x134, 5x154, 5x174
Dips - 10, 10, 8
Farmers Walks - 140x56s


Hopefully I can get back my strength pretty quickly.

I felt a sharp twinge in my right hamstring during warmups today and it definitely bothered me during deadlifts. My hamstring has felt pretty tight lately so there's probably something going on there. It may have been dumb to continue my workout but I'm stubborn.

Deadlift - C20W3. 08-19-2014
5x310
3x350
1x390

Front Squat - 5x147, 5x169, 5x191
Superhuman planks - 5x10
Back Extensions - 3x12x25lb


My deads were uglyyyyy today. In addition dealing with the lingering effects of being sick, skipping last week's workouts, and the recent hamstring strain, my form was pretty bad. You can see in the video below that my hips rise before the pull begins. This is a fairly big newbie mistake imo and I'll work on fixing this ASAP. I believe if I focus on pulling the slack out of the bar before the pull I'll be fine (might try to keep my hips higher, too). I've also been trying to get my core super tight, and although I had success with this on previous weeks, it didn't quite feel right today.

I won't be increasing my deadlift weight until I get my form locked in again.

Bench - C20W3. 08-21-2014
5x170
3x196
1x215

Incline - 5x120, 5x140, 5x155
Chins - 10, 8, 7, 7, 5
Pendlay Rows - 4x5x110

I wanted at least 2 reps on bench, but it's all good. 215 is a new PR for me, and I'm also weighing in pretty light right now (185lb). I think if I avoided sickness and ate better last week, 2x215 would have been within reach.

Squat - C20W3. 08-23-2014
5x310
1x350
0x390

SLDL - 5x142, 5x164, 5x186
DB curls - 3x12x25

This was so, so, so bad. I have some excuses - Coming off a week-long sickness, getting drunk the previous two nights and getting ****ty sleep, bad diet the previous days. I know I'm capable of better here, but I'm going to reset my squat next cycle anyway since I've been struggling in general. The good news is that my groin injury is completely healed.

Press - C21W1. 09-02-2014
5x100
5x115
6x130

CGBP - 10x105, 10x127, 10x147
Dips
Farmers Walks


Been healthy for a week and back to eating well. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get 7 reps here but it's all good.

My groin/glute area on my right leg is quite tight during my warmups. I especially notice this when doing V-sits. I gotta find a way to calm this down before it flares up on me and I possibly get hurt.

Deadlift - C21W1. 08-03-2014
5x270
5x310
6x350

Front Squat - 10x115, 10x138, 10x161
Superhuman Planks - 5x10
Back Extensions (+25lb) - 4x12


These deadlifts were kinda crappy. My form is just all over the place nowadays and it's getting to my head. I think my shins might be a little too close to the bar.

Bench - C21W1. 09-05-2014
5x150
5x176
5x200


Incline - 10x95, 10x115, 10x135
Pendlay Rows - 5x5x115
Pullups - 4x4


Not much to say here, pretty standard workout.

Squat - C21W1. 09-06-2014
5x245
5x280
8x315

SLDL- 10x115, 10x135, 10x157
Ab Wheel - 2x12
DB Curls - 2x12x25

I decided to reset my squats, and it was nice to have a workout where I wasn't failing or coming dangerously close to failure. I was pretty hungover during this workout and it was also extremely hot and humid. I'm happy with 8 reps but I wanted 10.

Press - C21W2. 09-08-2014
3x105
3x120
4x135

CGBP - 8x125, 8x147, 6x169
Dips - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Farmers Walks - 150x60s

I got 6 reps at 135 last month for press, so this is very concerning. These presses felt really good too. I focused on getting super tight before unracking.

Deadlift - C21W2. 09-09-2014
3x291
3x330
7x370

Front Squat - 8x138, 8x161, 6x184
Superhuman Planks - 6x10s
Back Extensions - 4x12x25


Deadlifts felt really, really, good today. +3 reps from last month. I focused on three things:
1. Pushing through my feet as opposed to pulling.
2. Shins a little further back from the bar (4-6 inches away)
3. Feet a little wider apart (~12 inches apart)

I took videos of all my sets and posted them below. I noticed that on my 3rd set, when I wear the belt, I have a more difficult time keeping my back straight as I go down to reach the bar. This makes it more difficult to maintain a tight back throughout the movement. I might need to switch to a skinnier belt or place the belt higher on my abdomen.

Bench - C21W2. 09-11-2014
3x165
3x186
4x210

Incline - 8x115, 8x135, 6x152
Pendlay Rows - 5x5x115
Pullups - 5, 4, 4, 4, 5


Pretty good lift this morning. My setup on bench felt really solid and tight. I've deconstructed my bench setup into 3 steps.
1. Grab bar, set grip
2. Put feet on bench and shove hips up. Get a feel for having the shoulders bear the load.
3. Place feet down, tuck feet under while sliding butt forward. Keep the shoulders feeling the same from step 2.

I've also been eating a bit more lately so that helps as well.

Squat - C21W2. 09-12-2014
3x260
3x301
6x335

SLDL - 8x135, 8x159, 6x181
Ab Wheel - 4x12
DB Curls - 4x12x25

I think the DLs look pretty good. There's some slight lumbar/low-midback flexion going on, but it could just be going from extension to neutral. I'd also focus on tucking your chin a bit.

But let's be real about these sets. They're 3x1x291, 3x1x330, and 3x1x370. Now, this might be OK. Progress is progress, and if your loads are increasing and your rest between reps stays constant, then whatever, keep doing you. But that 7x370 took a whole 2:45. Nearly 3 minutes. So did you really beat your previous rep record by 2 reps, or did you just get a lot more rest while doing it?

For a frame of reference, I just looked at a 8x365 I did. About 40s.

I stopped wearing a belt for DLs for this very reason. I just got a 3" belt (waiting for me at my folk's place) but I haven't even tried it on yet. I'll let you know what I think when I give it a whirl.

ya, probably 3x1 instead of 1x3. I don't think it matters a whole lot as long as I'm getting the reps in. I get so incredibly gassed during DLs that I need to catch my breath between reps. My conditioning needs work for sure.

Really good day today. I ate a ****load of food yesterday - 9 slices of pizza, a chicken pesto sub, chicken fingers, a brownie - and it probably helped my performance a bit.

Press - C21W3. 09-15-2014
5x115
3x130
4x145

CGBP - 5x137, 5x157, 5x180
Dips - 5x10
Farmers Walks - 150x56s


These were arguably my strongest presses ever. Like last week, I put a lot of focus into getting super tight before unracking the bar. My lats definitely felt engaged (and uncomfortable - in a good way) right off the bat.

I've found that to get this tight before starting, I need to lower the pins a slot. Unfortunately, this forces me to do a front squat type movement to unrack the bar. It's a little awkward but the benefits are worth it.

I also focused on trying to rip the bar apart during the descent, something that has helped me on bench.

Deadlift - C20W3. 09-16-2014
5x310
3x350
2x390

Front Squat - 5x150, 5x172, 5x196
Superhuman planks - 5x10
Back Extensions - 4x12x25lb

I'm pretty happy with today. I thought I could have got 3 reps but my legs just died on me. I focused on 3 new things today:

1. Packing the neck
2. Less rest between reps (I'm still not comfortable with not resetting each time)
3. Wear the belt higher.

I also focused on the 3 things from last week - feet closer together and farther from bar, push through the feet rather than pull.

Despite all the thoughts floating through my head I think things went well and my form looks pretty good. I think I did a pretty good job of packing my neck. Also, wearing the belt higher on my abdomen worked! I was able to reach for the bar without being pinched by the belt and I felt like my back stayed solid and straight the whole time.

One thing I think I can improve on is pulling the slack out of the bar before dialing up the pull. I'm still pulling with a jerky motion. This was a great month overall for my deadlifts and I fixed alot of form leakes. I'm going to start increasing the weight again starting next cycle.

Bench - C21W3. 09-18-2014
5x176
3x200
2x220

Incline - 5x125, 5x142, 5x162
Pullups - 6, 5, 5, 5, 5
Pendlay Rows - 4x5x115

I (kinda) hit the 2 plate milestone! I use 20kg plates instead of 45lb plates. I guess next month I will truly hit 2 plates when I go for 225.

Bench felt ok today - I didn't truly feel locked in and was only shooting for 1 rep. I've been eating more lately which seems to have helped all my lifts.

Squat - C21W3. 09-19-2014
5x260
3x315
3x355

SLDL - 5x147, 5x169, 5x186
DB curls - 4x12x25
Ab Wheel - 4x12

These squats kinda sucked. I wanted 4 or 5. I wasn't as focused as I could have been. Also, I had the pins a notch high so my unrack was awkward.

I'm in deload week right now, but I think I'm going to take a break from 5/3/1 after I finish this deload. One of my coworkers has been bugging me to lift with him and wants to run a more traditional westside template. He's stronger than me and has competed before so maybe I could learn a thing or two. 21 cycles on 5/3/1 was a good run.

I'm going to spend the next few days drawing up a template for myself for westside. Going to make sure to add a decent amount of OHP and Deadlift in there since those are my two favorite lifts.

Today was the first day switching things up. Mon, Tues will be max effort squat/dead/bench and Thurs, Fri will be speed work. I am basically just working off a rough westside template and figuring stuff out for myself. Also lifting with a friend who's done this before.

Squat - Max Effort
1x355
1x370
1x390 PR
3x308
3x264
3x220

SLDL
Lunges
DB Rows
Ab work.

I went with 3 heavy singles, including tying my PR. I did some back off sets to get in some extra volume.

What have you read on west side? It's hard to say just from one workout but it seems like you are not on the right track.

I've given a rough sketch of my plan below. What are your thoughts?


Monday - Max Effort Lower Body
- Work up to a 1-3RM of some variation of the squat and deadlift. To start, I'm planning on cycling between Squat/DL/Front Squat/Good Mornings.
- Assistance work (quads, hamstring, glutes, posterior chain)

Tuesday - Max Effort Upper Body
- Work up to 1-3RM of some variation of bench. I'll be starting with Bench, OHP, and CGBP.
- Assistance (tris, upper back, shoulders)

Thursday - Dynamic Effort Lower Body
- 10x2x50% of some variation of squat/deadlift. Doing these as fast as possible. Probably going to start these out doing pause squats.
- Similar assistance work as Monday

Friday - Dynamic Effort Upper Body
- 10x3x50% of a bench variation.
- Similar assistance work as Tuesday.

Here is a pretty good writeup/thread. http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=122954351

I would go heavier on dynamic day since you are not using accommodating resistance and are raw. Probably do waves of like 60, 65, 70 or something like that. I also would not use a good morning as a max effort lower body movement.

For dynamic effort day i would just to free squats since you are raw.

Since you didnt write out your assistance work on your first day im going to assume you did super light and high rep? On your first assistance movement it is still going to be fairly heavy

Thanks! I'll check that out. Are you suggesting I only do squats on dynamic lower body day? Or just stick to normal squats (i.e. no box squats) when I do squats on dynamic day?

For assistance I did:
SLDL - 3x5x225
Lunges - 3x10x60
DB Rows - 3x10x100

I rotated the 3 exercises with little rest in between.

Every DE lower day is squats, afaik. If you do DE pulls as well you do them after squats.