My back may have rounded a bit, something felt a little off. My estimated 1RM is exactly where it was when I started 5/3/1, so this is dissapointing . Although, if I bang out 1 more rep, it bumps up to 407. I think I may have had 1 more in the tank but didn't want to risk it since my form didn't feel that solid today.
Hanging Leg Raises
10, 8, 7, 8, 6.
Was shooting for 5x15. This is still way better than when I started these a few months ago.
Good Mornings
5x10x66
First time doing these and they were humbling. Really put a lot of stress on my hamstrings (the good kind). How's my form? (I slipped up around #7).
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I think I'm feeling a little weaker, which is expected. I have been weighing myself daily when I wake up, and my average weight this week is already 3.4 pounds less than my average weight last week. I understand water weight and all that jazz, but the weekly averaging should smooth that over. It's possible that I was underestimating the amount of calories in my morning shake. I don't expect -3lb/week to continue but I think that -1.5lb is within reason.
At least I'm getting 1 more rep than required (for press and DL). I'm hopeful that I can complete this cycle without any failures. At this pace, I may be able to drop 6-8 pounds this cycle as well.
Edit: Just did some quick math and my deficit is roughly 600kcal/day. I'm probably just overthinking things based on a small sample.
The form check thread confirmed that my GM form is lolbad. My low back is in a world of hurt today. I was planning on doing a weighted vest walk this evening but I'm going to put that on hold. I walked 3.33 miles over the weekend with the +60lb vest and felt pretty good. I found a nice 1.67 mile loop around my apartment that I'm thinking about extending to 2 miles fairly soon.
Hopefully my back feels better tomorrow. At least it's bench day tomorrow. I think I'll be alright.
I knew my bench was my best lift relative to my training maxes, but I didn't expect anywhere near this amount of production. My bench has really shot up over the last few months.
Kroc Rows
20x100 right arm
18x100 left arm
Gotta stick with 100 for awhile now since that's the heaviest DB. My goal is to eventually hit 40 reps.
Dumbbell OHP
3x10x45 right arm
2x10x45 / 1x9x45 left arm
I thought I grabbed a 40lb dumbbell and didn't realize it was 45 until I finished. 45 was too heavy for assistance work and I'll probably drop down to 40 next week. My form wasn't that great, but it's my first time doing them
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Seems like there's an imbalance showing between my right arm and left arm. Probably not something to worry about too much. Next week I think I'll do 5 sets for DB OHP on my left arm, and keep it at 3 sets for the right.
I was nervous about these but I ended up performing well. I've been focusing on not going below parallel because that lets me lift more and also reduces the possibility of butt wink. I still may be breaking the plane a little bit.
Lunges
3x10x50
Leg Curls
5x15x35
My right hamstring always cramps during these. It's not like I'm using too heavy of a weight either. At least this time the cramp didn't come on until my final few reps.
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I'm off to Chicago for the weekend and will be doing lots of drinking. I also won't be able to cook for myself. This will probably affect my performance and cut, but it is what it is.
These felt solid. I'm not too concerned about the loss of strength from last week. One more rep and it's +1 instead of -3. I'm not expecting to continue to get stronger while cutting, either.
Chinups
50 reps across 12 sets. This is a new PR by 4 sets. Great progress.
Dips
8, 6, 5, 4, 2
No improvement from last week, but I did them all after chins as opposed to supersetting, and also held myself to a strict 2min rest between sets.
Couldn't get more than the required 3 reps. My form felt rock solid, whereas last week I was suspicious of some lower back rounding.
Hanging Leg Raises
7, 7, 8, 6, 5
Didn't do as well as last week, but I think my form was better because I did not bend my legs at all.
Good Mornings
3x5x45
Went super light on these and my ROM was truly awful, but at least I didn't compromise my back. I'm going to try to learn to do GMs correctly by starting slow. Hopefully get some vids next week.
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Looks like I'm getting weaker =(. I'm just gonna focus on getting through this cycle and I'll move to the next cycle without upping any weights (except maybe bench). If I start failing to get reps next cycle at the same weights, I'll probably add an extra protein shake to my diet at night for some extra cals.
I wouldn't worry about week to week fluctuations in estimated 1rm. In my experience the calculations are inaccurate for certain rep ranges (i.e. more than 5). I would only worry about weight changes for the same rep number, or different reps for the same weight. Like if you get 315 for 5 one week, but only get 4 the next week. Or if you get 315 for 5 reps one cycle, then 325 for 5 the next. Those are changes you can put stock in.
Estimated 1RMs are only marginally useful for tracking progress, but are great for when you need a quick guideline for actually testing a 1RM. I do estimate a 1rm for each lift at the end of every cycle, but it is just for fun, it doesn't really show my progress or lack thereof.
Good advice. I'm quickly finding that to be true. Next cycle I'm going to list my cycle to cycle numbers as opposed to week to week. Even if inaccurate, the week to week numbers are at least something for now.
Not my best performance. I really rushed through this, completing my warmups and worksets in about 15 minutes. I was so close to getting 7 but just couldn't get it up all the way. A little more leg drive and I would have had it.
Kroc Rows 21x100 per hand
Dumbbell OHP
4x10x40 per hand
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Not my best workout but as I said I was rushing through it. I definitely have a noticeable imbalance between my right and left arm strength. To fix this, I'm doing both Krocs and DB OHP starting with my left (weaker) arm. When I move to my right arm, I'm not allowing myself to do any more reps than what I did with my left. Hopefully this is a good way of fixing this (minor) issue.
My office ordered catering from Sam LaGrassa's in downtown Boston today (great sandwhich shop). I ended up eating 3 sandwiches (oops! ). I showed some poor discipline with regards to my cut, especially since I'm drinking tonight. Hopefully this is just a minor blip on the radar.
Very disappointing workout today. I did a few hours of yardwork yesterday and I also have a head cold. The fact that I'm recovering from both does not bode well for working out. Still, I wish I did better.
God damn. I tried 4 times to get 150 up but every single time I couldn't get past the sticking point right across my eyes. The bar would be sitting there for like 5 seconds and I just couldn't break through it. Anyone know of any good assistance work for breaking through this particular sticking point?
I put up a rep of 132 afterwards just to get something up.
Chinups
50 reps across 9 sets. This is a new PR by 3 sets. At least something went well.
Dips
10, 6, 5, 4
Same amount of reps as last week, but I burnt out quicker.
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Time to make a decision. Do I drop the press weight for my next cycle? On one hand I failed to complete this cycle successfully so I should. On the other hand, I am dealing with a sickness and recovery from physical labor today, so on a healthy day I should get 150, especially since I did more than the required reps on the previous two weeks.
I think I'm going to swallow my ego and drop my training max from 155 to 140. 140 was where I started out on my first cycle, so that sucks. I'm going to keep thinking long term in order to avoid getting discouraged.
Are you recommending the BBB sets for my sticking point concern?
I actually did do BBB for all 4 lifts for the first 3 months of 5/3/1 - going from 50% to 60% to 70%. I decided to stop doing BBB while cutting since I thought it would be too much work on a deficit. Ultimately, my plan is to cycle between the following routines:
I haven't considered doing BBB on just a single lift. It's an interesting proposal but I'm not entirely sure of what the effects would be. While doing BBB for 3 months I didn't feel like I got a whole lot stronger, but aesthetically I definitely got much bigger.
I was reading up on pin press today, seems like it could be a good idea. I think that is something I could squeeze into bench day. Perhaps swap out DB OHP with pin presses for my assistance.
My low back is pretty sore. It flared up on Sunday after doing some yard work where I was bending over alot, shoveling dirt, and picking up buckets of mulch. Probably just needs some more rest after getting destroyed by Good Mornings and the yard work did not help.
The 1RM formula clearly makes no sense here. There was probably a 40% chance I could have got a 2nd rep up, but I didn't want to put my back in jeopardy so played it safe. Overall, these felt solid as hell - some of my best deads in awhile. I moved just a wee bit closer to the bar and it seemed to help alot. I felt this workout in my legs more so than other weeks.
Hanging Leg Raises
10, 6, 7, 6, 7
It's funny how bad I was at these a few months ago. It took me awhile but I've come a long way. I am now going up in down with straight legs at a slow pace, completely in control. Definitely feeling it in my abs.
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I'm tempted to bump my deads up by 5 or 10 pounds next cycle, despite being on a cut. I wonder if it's better to push myself and maybe fail, or repeat what I've done with a high chance of success?
I probably wouldn't worry about the press. Cutting, recovery from a lot of work and sick is basically a guarantee you'll fail something only 10 pounds less than your estimated 1RM from the past few weeks. Not sure what you should do going forward though.
Since I'm doing these to help break through my sticking point on presses, I think I should go pretty heavy. These were taxing but I probably could have gone a little heavier (~140)
Again, the RM formula doesn't make much sense in this case. My goal was 3 reps here and I came so close to 2, but just couldn't bust it out. I'm not that upset with these results.
Lunges
5x10x50 per leg
100 reps total. I have such a love/hate relationship with lunges. They suck, but they are definitely my most rewarding assistance exercise
Leg Curls
5x15x35
Avoided the hamstring cramps finally.
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Only dropped 1/2 a pound of weight this week w/o changing my diet. Need to get more weighted vest walks in.
I'll be keeping my training maxes the same for cycle 5, even after failing on press. I got a weightlifting belt so that alone should help my press, but I'm feeling stronger anyway. Unfortunately, the belt will probably skew my cycle-to-cycle rep comparisons to see if I'm losing strength, but whatever.
Weight loss is going well. Here's my progress after one cycle:
Press
5x105
5x120
5x135 Last Cycle: 6 reps, Difference: -1
My form wasn't great for these. On my final workset, I lost the bar forward on my 4th rep and spent a non-trivial amount of energy recovering and getting balanced again. I came sooooo close to a 6th rep that I think I get it with better form.
Chinups
34 reps across 8 sets. This was a pretty big step back, as I haven't failed to get 50 reps in quite some time. I basically burnt out too quickly. I got greedy and was so focused on setting a new PR that I maxed out on my first two sets and hardly had anything left afterwards. Always leave one in the tank.
Dips
8, 5, 3, 4, 3
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Not the best day. Had some mental lapses which resulted in poor form and ego-based decisions. I'm also not quite 100% as my lumbar is still sore from GMs a few weeks ago and my left knee is bothering me. I think there's a non-zero (read: very small) chance I herniated a disc but I'm not concerned yet.
I did my final set with a belt for the first time, and I think the belt helped, but I felt locked and loaded from my first warmup set. Looks like I'll need to bump the weight up next cycle. Despite being on a cut it looks as if I've added a non-trivial amount of strength. I'm ****ing pumped about today's results. I posted a vid below.
Hanging Leg Raises
5x8
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Here's my final set of deads. Any critiques are welcome. It looks like my low back might be a little bit rounded, but I can't tell. I'm not noticing any issues personally, but I always want to improve.