# Getting Strongr, 5/3/1



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

i've decided to start a journal to track my progress, i train mainly MMA/Kick Boxing but like to get in some weights sessions using Wendlers 5/3/1 method, i've using it for just short of a year, previously did it for 6 months before taking a break and concentating on MMA

i'm 5ft 11, 13 stone, around 15% BF

lifts are very modest, these ae all 1 rep maxes i've actually lifted, no predicted numbers

Military Press - 60kg

Deadlift - 150kg

Squat - 100kg

Bench - 80kg

my press is weak as in the last year ive just finally got over a very long rotator cuff injury, squat is just pathetic which im sorting out now, pretty pleased with deadlift.

My goals are to even up my strength and make good progress and hopefully in the long term get the following numbers

Military Press - 100kg

Deadlift - 250kg

Squat - 200kg

Bench - 125kg


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

started new meso-cycle of 5/3/1, 5's week. yesterday was Military Press day, numbers

Warmup

10x empty bar

5x 25

5x 30

5x 37.5

Work Sets

5x 40

5x 45

6x 52.5

Chin ups 3x5

Close grip bench 3x10 at 50%, 60%, 70%

shrugs 25kg dumbbells suppose to 1 set of 100 but managed, 50, 40, 10 (aiming for 1x100 before moving up weight)

following this template at the moment - http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/building_a_bigger_yoke


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Deadlift today

Warm up

5x 60

5x 75

3x 90

Work Sets

5x 97.5

5x 112.5

10x 127.5

Leg Press, 10x wide stance, 10x close stance (keeping tension in legs and squeezing through my heals) - 3 sets

Leg extensions, 10x full reps then 10x half reps - 3 sets

dumbbell swings, suppose to be 1 set of 100 but managed 4 sets of 25, i wont move up weigh until i nail 1 set of 100

Abs, leg raises (3x20) heavy crunch machine (full stack 3x20 rest pause)


----------



## cub (Jul 14, 2011)

Good luck! I do the similar exercises (but 5x5) so I'll be interested to see how you get on.


----------



## Tassotti (Feb 27, 2011)

Good luck mate


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Diet is based on the following

Breakfast, 6 whole eggs scrambled, 1 cup of oats in water with manuka honey

Snack, 40g whey mixed in 75g of oats

Lunch, 60g protein, carbs (e.g tin of tuna and 2x boiled eggs in mayo, flax seeds and 75g brown rice)

Snack, 40g whey 25g almonds

Dinner, same as lunch

Veg is eaten but not noted, this doesn't seem much but it's the basis of my diet anything else I eat is a bonus

Diet isn't set in stone I swap foods out depending on if I'm working or at home, I try to stay clean 5/6 days a week and have a cheat meal (usually pizza and chips with a protein shake to wash it down) day 6 or 7, as long as I train for 5/6 days either weights or MMA I feel the heat is earned, I don't have any competitions planned so I'm concentrating on getting stronger, when it's time to compete I'll clean up he diet more.

Tonight is cheat meal night, happy days


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Today i did Bench press as the main lift and my assistance work for Military Press

Warm up

10x empty bar

5x 35

5x 42.5

3x 50

Work Sets

5x 55

5x 62.5

5x 72.5 (as many as possible, i got 10)

3x12 "Karowski shrugs" - shrug a barbell then upright right, return to bottom position and repeat, tried this with an olympic bar an 10kg each side, its really hard and was playing havoc on my shoulder, think ill drop to an empty bar and go for max reps then add my fat grips and eventually add some plates

Incline Press 1x12 @42.5kg, [email protected], 1x [email protected]

face pulls 3x20 (think ill invest in a iron wood band or similar)

3x12 Swiss bar front raise, we dont have one so i use a plate and had my hands in similar position

diet was really clean, pretty much ate my "template" and then some more healthy stuff, feeling strong but have developed a bit of a gut, going to add in 15 minutes tredmill interval training on upperbody days as well as my usuall mma cardio.


----------



## BoxerJay (Jan 11, 2011)

Try squat jumps, they're great, and lunges with a barbell


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

BoxerJay said:


> Try squat jumps, they're great, and lunges with a barbell


Why ?


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Squat day. the day i dread the most as its hard work and my squat is ****e

Warm up

5x 40

5x 47.5

5x 57.5

Work Sets

5x 62.5

5x 72.5

5x 82.5 (maxed out at 7)

Back Extensions, 3x 25

i'm feeling a little run down, woke up with the start of a cold so my assistance work was kept to a minimum also didn't help i only had the one meal (breakfast) 2 hours before.

at the moment i'm experimenting with my pre/intra/post workout nutrition, currently following this protocol.

30 mins before - 1x scoop of physical edge - rampage with 50g maltodextrin

during - Lucozade sport isotonic

after - 1x scoop whey with 50g maltodextrin.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

3's week, military press.

Recovering from my cold, past the worst of it but expecting my strength to suffer so for this second week I'll be aiming for required reps only and not pushing for max reps on last set. (... That was the plan but i felt ok and pushed for one more reps)

Breakfast was 6 whole eggs scrambled, 100g oats with honey

*90 mins later had pre workout supplement with 50g maltodextrin, trained about 30 mins later.

Warmup*

10x empty bar

5x 25

5x 30

5x 37.5

Work Sets

3x 45

3x 50

3x 55 (got 4 reps, 5th was almost there)

- Chin ups 3x6

Bench 3x10 at 40kg, 50kg, 57kg, suppose to be close grip but I normally bench close grip.

- Shrugs 25kg dumbbells suppose to 1 set of 100 but managed, 50, 40, 10 (aiming for 1x100 before moving up)

- Added in push downs for triceps, keeping under tension and really squeezing the triceps 3x25 (20kg, 25kg, 30kg max effort drop set)

Cardio was on the plan but was feeling really winded.

Post workout had 80g *maltodextrin with 20g whey protein

Around an hour later had 150g steak with 3 scrambled eggs.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Cr3do said:


> Good luck mate!
> 
> 5/3/1 my self on Monday, I come from a boking and MMA background, but a rotator cuff injury has kept me from training the last year or so.
> 
> How much cardio with you be doing with this?


If your rotator cuff is playing up to see a physio and look at cissus, this combo worked for me.

Was going to be doing a treadmill hiit routine I have taken from the dolce diet living lean book, when I can breath properly again I'll be using it on my upper body days, this is in addition to doing MMA, can't get to MMA s much as I would like because i work a rolling shift pattern.

Treadmill routine is based on an MMA fight, 5 min warmup...

- one minute sprint

- one minute jog

- one minute sprint

- one minute jog

- one minute sprint

---- one minutes walk, repeat 3 times

Sprints are at 9 mph, jogging is at 6 mph, the rest period is at your walking speed, once you can do the sprints at 10 to 12 mph then add in 2 extra rounds


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

looking good mate .


----------



## mikeod (Jan 20, 2012)

very strong over head press in comparison to your bench press. good luck


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

bongon95 said:


> very strong over head press in comparison to your bench press. good luck


My over head is the one I've spent most time working on, 18 months ago my bench and over head was non existent as my right shoulder was really ****ed up, got it physio'd and tried to build strength up sine then.

I really want to give a few strength events a go and the press has more carryover than the bench, I'll still do both lifts but more time on press, as long as my bench keeps improving each month I'm not too worried. I'm a long way from competing in anything though.


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

when you say strength events what did you have in mind ?

bench press is surely the culprit to shoulder problems and has little carry over to anything where as ohp has lots of carry over .

do you do facepulls for shoulder health ?


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

ewen said:


> when you say strength events what did you have in mind ?
> 
> bench press is surely the culprit to shoulder problems and has little carry over to anything where as ohp has lots of carry over .
> 
> do you do facepulls for shoulder health ?


Strongman type events, log pressing, yoke, farmers, tyre flips, truck pulls, that kind of thing, I've done events training days with friends who are lighter and a hell of a lot stronger than me so until I feel confident enough with my strength I'll hold off, I've thought of doing a bit of amateur powerlifting for now, the totals I've seen for the lower novice end I think I coud get to, just need to get the squat up, what I lack in the bench I think I coud make up in the squat and deadlift.

As for my shoulder I Do lots of face pulls, just waiting for my band to turn up rather than use the rope pully machine, I've spent time doing the exercises shwn in a diesel crew video, they helped a lot.

The bench did cause my shoulder problem, only way I bench now is close grip (thumbs on the last of the groves, use suicide grip and elbows tucked - using triceps more than chest.). I have tried normal bench since but I can feel the pressure on my joint.


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

good bench tech .

i do a little bit of strongman , its not always about being the strongest but having the most heart .

find a beginners comp and use it to spur you on .


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

ewen said:


> good bench tech .
> 
> i do a little bit of strongman , its not always about being the strongest but having the most heart .
> 
> find a beginners comp and use it to spur you on .


There is one a friend of mine did for first timers only in march or may (can't remember exactly) I think if I can keep numbers up I'll aim for that.


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

not sure if your on here or seen this ..

http://www.sugdenbarbell.co.uk/forum/Competitions

some good comps on there .


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

3's week, Deadlift.

Usual breakfast at 9:15am, 6x eggs 100g of oats

11.30am protein shake, 75g oats (blended together)

1pm pre workout drink (physical edge - rampage) with 50g of maltodextrin

Warm up

5x 60

5x 75

3x 90

Work sets

3x 105

3x 120

3x 135 (actually managed 6 reps)

Assistance work for squats

- 3x Wide stance x12, close stance x12 *leg press superset, still experimenting with the weights on this and my technique.

- 3x full leg extension x12, half rep x12 superset

- Hanging leg raises 2x 10

- Weighted crunch machine, 1x 30 (fast but controlled), 1x 10 (slow and under control with a pause) 1x 15 (somewhere in between the first 2 sets)... Or that was the idea, machine was busted again.

Post workout, 80g of*maltodextrin, 20g of protein, cheat meal day so will be ordering a pizza (washed down with a protein shake).

Ive been really hungry on a night this past week, I have been not restricted my intake of food

... Rest day tomorrow, Sunday is my bench/press assistance day, I'll be training after work so will of had a few more meals in me and will hopefully have a good session.

As a side note just got my PPI claim through, 3 times the amount I was expecting, think I'll start planning a winter juicer ;-) happy days


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

3's week, Bench Press

Warmup

10x empty bar

5x 35

5x 42.5

3x 50

Work sets

3x 60

3x 67.5

3x 75 (managed 6 reps on this last set)

- Incline bench Press 1x12 @42.5kg, [email protected], 1x [email protected], quite tired on the last set as just done main bench work, managed 6 reps

- 3x12 "Karowski shrugs", decided I'm going to change these out, I can't get the movement right.

- face pulls 3x20

- 3x12 plate front raise

Monday and Tuesday I have 2 boxing/cardio sessions, back on weights Wednesday with squats.


----------



## TrailerParkBoy (Sep 20, 2011)

interesting to see how you get on. im doing stronglifts 5 x 5 and enjoying it


----------



## BoxerJay (Jan 11, 2011)

strongr said:


> Why ?


You're "Training MMA" are you not? Then you want to develop explosive power, not just static strength.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

3's Week, Squat session

The squat is my worse lift, months ago i set my numbers for squat to an even 100kg just so i could steadily build up the strength in my legs, i found previously i was struggling to get the required reps

got in from work at 7:30am, few hours sleep and managed to get in the gym for 12

Warm up

10x empty bar

5x 40

5x 47.5

3x 57.5

Work Sets

3x 67.5

3x 77.5

3x 87.5 (actually got 5 reps)

Defecit Deadlift, stood on a couple of 25kg plates, did 10x 75, 10x 90, 10x 105 - not a struggle but im trying to work different muscles to help get my deadlift to the 200kg mark, i can feel the aches from extra depth already so defecit deadlifts will stick in my routine for a while i think.

i've neglected core work for a few months so im going to stick in a few core only days, this isn't recommended in 5/3/1 but my schedule next weeks will allow for this , Tomorrow is my first core session, Saturday is Military Press day then off weights until Wednesday morning so have plenty of recovery time.


----------



## LeBigMac (Jul 17, 2011)

Nice detailed journal mate. Subbed.

Good luck with your totals - you got a time scale in mind.

5/3/1 good way of doing block training. Is your 4th week a deload week? How often are you switching your core lifts?


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

LeBigMac said:


> Nice detailed journal mate. Subbed.
> 
> Good luck with your totals - you got a time scale in mind.
> 
> 5/3/1 good way of doing block training. Is your 4th week a deload week? How often are you switching your core lifts?


Timescale isn't of importance at the moment, I did want 200kg deadlift by end of the year but rather than rush things and risk injurys I'm taking my time.

4th week is suppose to be a deload but I usually go by how I feel, if I feel good after a couple of days rest I'll go back to my week one, think I'll have to start taking he deload week though.

I keep the 4 main lifts the same all the way through, as for my main and secondary accessory lifts I'll normally try something for 4 weeks and see how I feel and how it fits in, at the moment I'm concentrating on building a stronger "yoke" as well as sort my squat/legs out.

I have a stable of exercises that I know works for me I just try to add more exercises to my list as options, rotate them in and out as I see fit


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/3/1, press

Warm up

10x mpty bar

5x 25

5x 30

3x 35

Work sets

5x 45

3x 52.5

1x 57.5 with added singles

1x 60

1x 62.5

Happy to get 62.5 kg reps in

Bench press 10x, 40kg, 50kg, 60kg

Wide grip chins 3x 5

3x15 tricep push downs

Dumbbell shrugs 2x 50, still aiming for 1x 100

Out tonight first time in over a year, not expecting any form of gym session tomorrow, back at the weights Wednesday day


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/3/1 week, deadlift

My favourite day, decided to warm up, do the 5/3/1 and throw in some singles working my way upto 160kg, used a belt and chalk for my singles which helped

Breakfast 2 hours before, 8 eggs scrambled, 100g oats

Pre workout, physical edge - rampage

(think these are the numbers, I'll double check my notes later)

Warm up

5x 60

5x 75

3x 95

5x 107.5

3x 127.5

1x 132.5

1x 140

1x 145

1x 150

1x 155

1x 160

The last single was a struggle but limped it up, grip held out no problem.

Felt pretty beat up so just did 3 sets of wide/close leg press with 125kg, 10 reps wide, 10 reps close, rest and repeat

Post workout shake then your later had 250g extra lean minced steak sandwich wih a bit of Swiss cheese.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/3/1 bench press

Warmup

5x 42.5

5x 50

3x 60

5x 62.5

3x 72.5

1x 80 (managed 2 reps)

Hammer row, 3x 15,

Triceps 2x 25

Felt really tired today, got in from work at 7am in the gym for 1330 only had few hours sleep and my breakfast.

Think I'll have another days rest before I attempt squats.


----------



## TrailerParkBoy (Sep 20, 2011)

looking good mate, keep it going


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Thank god it's deload week starting next session, feeling pretty banged up

Today's workout was my last 5/3/1, squat

Warm up

50 body weight squats

10x bar only

5x 40

5x 50

3x 60

5x 72.5

3x 82.5

1x 92.5 (managed 4 reps, my squat still sucks)

Hanging leg raises, 3x10

Leg extensions. 3x 20 (10 full movement, 10 hlf movement)

Standing calf raises, 3x10 (full stack)

Looking forward to just doing light weight and accessorys for the next week.


----------



## NICK_1 (Jan 27, 2009)

Subscribed, been using 5/3/1 for a couple of years now, with various different assistance templates, so always interested to see how other progress with it. good luck!


----------



## Dave 0511 (Feb 13, 2009)

5/3/1 is for winners.... the best thing about it for me is that on a bad day, you can just get in the gym, crack out a warmup and your working sets, and leave, and still be on track


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Dave 0511 said:


> 5/3/1 is for winners.... the best thing about it for me is that on a bad day, you can just get in the gym, crack out a warmup and your working sets, and leave, and still be on track


That's exactly what today's workout was all about, realised I need a bit of a break so this next meso-cycle I'm doing this for each lift, warm up, do the lifts, warm down/stretch


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/5/5 military press

Warm up

5x 25

5x 32.5

3x 37.5

Work sets

5x 42.5

5x 47.5

5x 55, just did the required reps as I found it really heavy

As I mentioned above I'm feeling a bit sluggish and broken down so for the next meso-cycle I'm warming up, lifting, warm down/stretch, should take me about 30 minutes.

Starting a tbol cycle end of September so this will tie in nicely, it will give my body some rest, maybe de-train a bit so then I can shock muscle growth with some hypertrophy reps


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/5/5, deadlift

Warm up

5x 62.5

5x 77.5

5x 95

Work sets

5x 102.5

5x 117.5

5x 132.5

Felt very heavy, still feeling very sluggish, hope it doesn't last much longer, if it carries on I think my next deload week I'll take off totally, no supplements of any form and no caffine, just get plenty of rest, a mini detox type of thing.

I've been reading up on something called adrenal fatigue, I've got a few symptoms and it recommends 2gram of vit c and more sleep, I'll give that a go, I hate self diagnosing via google as i always end up with a terminal illness :-/


----------



## Tassotti (Feb 27, 2011)

I'm liking the recent assistance


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Not sure if anyone reads tnation but Jim wendlers latest article, 100 rep challenge, looks quite interesting if you want to change things up

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/100rep_challenge


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

So after 2 days of MMA and then a days rest i hit the weights again today

5/5/5, Bench Press

Warmup

12x empty bar

5x 35

5x 42.5

3x 52.5

Work Sets

5x 57.5

5x 65

5x 72.5

stretched and went home

Tuesday night after MMA i thought i would attempt a 1 armed pull-up as i was passing the olympic rings, i managed half way, aiming to increase my strength enough that by xmas day ill be able to do a full 1 arm pull-up.

looking forward to starting my tbol cycle at the end of September, just sorting my diet out, not been to clean lately and trying to sort a diet that 3500 cals over 6 meals thats quite easy to prep/low maintenance, i like having an eating routine same as a gym routine, keeps me focused


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/5/5 squat day

Warm up

20x empty bar

5x 40

5x 50

3x 60

Work sets

5x 65

5x 75

5x 85

Sticking to the "doing jack ****" template but I experimented with 2 exercises I'm putting into my routine, box squats and rolling tricep extensions.

Haven't one box squats in a long time and felt great, just did 2 set of 10 reps with an empty bar then 40kg, they will form part of my leg assistance up until end of the year.

I've not done rolling tricep extensions before, they felt strange but have feeling they will be very beneficial on bench or military press day.

Diet has been utter **** recently, finding it hard to stick to eating right, had to many bad carbs this week, going to do a few days of mainly protein and have carbs only with breakfast see how i feel early next week.


----------



## robc1985 (Jan 28, 2010)

strongr said:


> started new meso-cycle of 5/3/1, 5's week. yesterday was Military Press day, numbers
> 
> Warmup
> 
> ...


I start 531 tomorrow. Was just gonna do exercises followed by one other as in his ebook. Like the look of this though. What did you think? I like the whole idea of getting good thickness to your upper body. Not for the ez curl arm brigade this is it


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

robc1985 said:


> I start 531 tomorrow. Was just gonna do exercises followed by one other as in his ebook. Like the look of this though. What did you think? I like the whole idea of getting good thickness to your upper body. Not for the ez curl arm brigade this is it


i liked some of the exercises from the "yoke" article, if your just starting 5/3/1 i'd run either the "Boring but big" or "simpliest strength" template, i like to change things up for 4 weeks at a time to bring my weak areas up, i've done 5/3/1 for a while and find this works for me.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

3/3/3 week, PRess

Warm Up

5x

5x

3x

Work Sets

3x 45

3x 50

3x 57.5

this was done after an hour of boxing, last set was hard but it was a strict press with no pushing from the legs.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

I fell like doing jack **** is really helping me recover from the battering I've given it this year.

Today was 3/3/3 deadlifts

Warm up

5x 62.5

5x 77

3x 90

Work sets

3x 110

3x 125

3x 140

Last set felt hard but managed all 3 reps wih a good speed, even if I had to shuffle it up on the last 2 reps.

I'm just in the middle of sorting my training for the rest of the year.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

3/3/3 bench press

Warm up

20x Empty bar

5x 35

5x 42.5

3x 57.5 (actually I'd 5 reps by accident)

Work sets

3x 60

3x 70

3x 77.5

I was only suppose to be getting 3 reps but saw a friend at the gym and he spotted me, managed 9 with 77.5 (body weight ish), very happy with that.

Saw some tool on the weighted crunch machine while having a phone conversation, I don't get why people do this.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

had 3 days of MMA/kick boxing and decided to do my squats today, 3/3/3.

Warm up

10x body weight squats with stretching

10x empty bar

5x 40

5x 50

3x 60

Work sets

3x 70

3x 80

3x 90

Since yesterday my right hip has been painful, I kept to my plan of only doing required reps, no need to "ego lift" and push for more and risk serious injury.

I'm going to have to start doing defranco's "agile 8", my hip hurts and my flexibility is getting worse, http://www.defrancostraining.com/ask_joe/archives/ask_joe_08-10-03.html

I'm going to trial run my next set of assistance work on my "one" week.


----------



## TrailerParkBoy (Sep 20, 2011)

My knees are wrecked squatting mate. Even with very little weight. No flexibility there. I might go back to once a week after I change my routine


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Unless things improve with joints and flexibility by end of the year I think I'll have to decide if its MMA or the weights I make my priority :-(


----------



## robc1985 (Jan 28, 2010)

strongr said:


> Unless things improve with joints and flexibility by end of the year I think I'll have to decide if its MMA or the weights I make my priority :-(


I had same gutrenchihg decision with weights or football. I love football and played senior for 7 seasons. In the end though I was more upset missing weights due to injury than the other way. And when you get injuries like broken bones and ligaments, the decision became less hard. Do what you miss more when not doing it


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/3/1, press day with bench/chest assistance

Warmup

10x empty bar

5x 25

5x 32.5

3x 37.5

Work sets

5x 47.5

3x 55

1x 60 (aiming for required reps as there is more assistance work than normal)

I did wide grip pull ups between each work set and kept the same number of reps for pull ups as I was pressing, my eventual aim is 3x10 between work sets

Hammer strength bench press, one set of 12x full range, 12x top to mid range, 12x low to mid range then did 12x 2 full range

Decline bb bench, 10x3

Seated cable Flys machine, 12x3

Tricep rolling extensions, 10x 3

Tricep rope pull down, 12x3

Tricep push down, 12x 2 and 1x to failure

This is going to be my weekly press routine until Xmas, takes around an hour, I'm trying to bring up my chest and triceps, bigger muscles = bigger weights

Quite pleased with my first run through, it's a bit of an experiment, all of the above was done after only having one meal and no water, I'd ran out of bottled water, tap water is full of nasty things.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Friday night was 5/3/1 week, deadlift

My favourite lift but yesterday I found it really hard, think the IF had a little knock on

Warm up

5x 62.5

5x 77.5

3x 95

Work sets

5x 117.5

3x 132.5

1x 147.5

The last rep was really hard and heavy, I had to wrench it up.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Saturday, 5/3/1 bench

Warm up

5x 35

5x 42.5

3x 52.5

Work sets

5x 65

3x 72.5

1x 82.5

Again felt tough, this was a very quick workout as I'm heading to Nottingham at lunch


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Sunday, 5/3/1 squat

Shouldn't of really done this so close to my other workouts but got home and decided to have a late workout.

Warm up

5x 40

5x 50

3x 60

Work sets

5x 75

3x 85

1x 95

As expected felt heavy, diet has been **** poor for 2 days but I'm not to bothered.

Start my tbol and bulking diet tomorrow, going to have a 2/3 days off the weights as a mini deload, then pickup for my 10th cycle of wendler 5/3/1.

Aiming to gain some lean muscle and not to much fat, will post diet etc on my next update


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/5/5, press

Warmup

10x Empty bar

5x 27.5

5x 32.5

3x 40

Work

5x 42.5

5x 52.5

5x 57.5

5x wide grip pull ups between sets of 5/5/5

Last set was utter ****, had to push press last 2 reps, I normally strict press. I left after that as felt disappointed and also have double MMA tonight.

I've upped my calories to around 3000 per day, 300g protein, 250+g carbs, also second day of tbol, not expecting anything from that yet, going to see how the bulk goes before adding in another meal for around 3500 calories.

On the plus side they are refurbing the DW fitness I go to, apparently they are spending £1m on the refit, extending the free weights and new equipment, heard they maybe getting functional training equipment, hoping for a power rack or 2,I'm hopeing for less machines.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Quick update, yesterday I decided to throw a kick which hit an elbow, the elbow won, I'm nursing a couple of busted toes and swollen/bruised ball of my foot.

Expecting purple/black toes.

Going to rest up, ice it and hopefully I can do my deadlifts and squat assistance work tomorrow, I feel the need to demolish my quads.


----------



## Tassotti (Feb 27, 2011)

Ouch !


----------



## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

How much tbol are you running?

I would have thought 531 would be too slow progression with aas support. Might be an idea to something more linear


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Tassotti said:


> Ouch !


Doesn't feel or look as bad as when I did it 2 years ago, last time it egged up bigger than half a tennis ball and my foot went purple/black, I've got pictures somewhere, I collect injurys like trophys


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> How much tbol are you running?
> 
> I would have thought 531 would be too slow progression with aas support. Might be an idea to something more linear


I'm on 105mg of tbol daily (7x 15mg tabs)

I train my main lift heavy low reps as outlined in the program then I do assistance work for the opposing body part and run the assistance for hypertrophy.

Like this, main lift/assistance

Overhead press/chest work

Deadlift/leg work

Bench"/shoulders and upper chest

Squat/back work

I found this works well or me, effectively training each group twice a week

I'm a firm believer in the slow and steady strength gains from 5/3/1 over all its something like my 20+ meso cycle but its my 10th meso-cycle this time round.


----------



## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

strongr said:


> I'm on 105mg of tbol daily (7x 15mg tabs)
> 
> I train my main lift heavy low reps as outlined in the program then I do assistance work for the opposing body part and run the assistance for hypertrophy.
> 
> ...


That's similar to how I've run it. Very nice. I just would have thought once the tbol kicks in. You would be able to put 2.5 on the lifts weekly and maybe more on the deads.

That's still slow and steady relative to your soon to be elevated testosterone levels


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

5/5/5, the beloved Deadlift

Warmup

Stretching, back, hips and legs and a cracking of my fingers

5x 65

5x 80

3x 97.5

Work

5x 105

5x 120

5x 137.5

It felt heavy and I though about giving in but pulled out my reps

Box squats

40kg 1x12

50kg 1x12

60kg 1x12

Wide and close stance leg press

12x12x3

Totally ****ed and legs are jelly.

The next deload week I will be taking the week off from weights, maybe chuck in a couple sessions of MMA or kick boxing, I've ditched my pre workout drink for now as I want to help my cns recover as much as possible.

4th day of tbol, should notice effects in around 7/14 days, this should help the lifting and when lifting is going well Ill be a much happier gym goer


----------



## Robbie (Dec 31, 2007)

I'm loving 531. I've been doing mine a bit different though. I do boring but big and do squat assistance after deads, deads after squats etc etc. I understand this is the way that Wendler hisself does it


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Robbie said:


> I'm loving 531. I've been doing mine a bit different though. I do boring but big and do squat assistance after deads, deads after squats etc etc. I understand this is the way that Wendler hisself does it


That's essentially the way I program it but I sub normal squats for box squats and deadlift for defecit dead lifts

Using them to try and improve my main lifts.


----------



## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Robbie said:


> I'm loving 531. I've been doing mine a bit different though. I do boring but big and do squat assistance after deads, deads after squats etc etc. I understand this is the way that Wendler hisself does it


That's what I did. My deadlift went up 50kg in 3 months


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Today was suppose to be bench press 5/5/5

I struggled in the top weight which was only 77.5kg, the gym closes for a refurb from Tuesday so what I'm doing is from now until a week on Monday I won't be doing any weights or taking any pre workout stims, maybe the odd green tea to help with energy and caffine withdrawal headache but that's it, I'll be getting in maybe one or 2 easy mma sessions, ill just focus on tech rather than fitness/cardio

Hoping this week off gives my body chance to recover a bit, I'll be supplementing with 2000/3000 mg of vit c, plenty of vit b's, fish oils, cod liver oil, BCAA and what ever the green tea contains.

Diet will be my usual healthy eating, ill be rolling my 5/3/1 routine back a month to help compensate with not working out and losing a bit of strength, I'll jump back on with the boring but big template and the tbol should of kicked in by then.

Probably wont update until I start back in a week


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

I found out I have a couple of interclub kick boxing fights and grappling comps coming up so my plans have change slightly (hoping it leads to a fight on a show)

I will still be running 5/3/1 boring but big template (from Monday when gym reopens), I'm still running 100mg of Tbol per day for 10 weeks but because of my current body fat level (20%) I have ordered some d-hacks DNP to give me a bit of jump start with weight cut, just deciding if I run low dose for long period or do a 2 week low dose to medium dose blast

I know cardio may be effected on DNP but ill see how I react, I ran some DNP a long time ago so know what to expect

Current weight is 84kg, I would like to first hit 77kg and then 70kg but I wil judge fight weight as I go. Last time I cut to 70kg I looked ill but I've gained a good few lbs since so hoping its lean muscle


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Back at the iron, a week off does wonders, it's press 5/5/5

Following the boring but big 3 month challenge template, I've reduced my training max by 10% using last months numbers, reason is I was struggling with the weights and having a week off from training would if meant my strength is down.

Warm up

10x empty bar

5x 25

5x 30

3x 37.5

5x 40

5x 45

5x 52.5 (required reps only)

Bench press 50kg, 10x5 with 5x Wide grip chins between sets

Barbell curls 10x3

Tricep push down 10x3

Face pulls on TRX 10x3

Want to work on chins, 5 sets of 10 is my goal

Managed 3 hours of boxing/kick boxing earlier this week, was split over 2 days, I've taken a proper pounding  top and of my face is sore and bruised to ****, taking shots is never a good idea

They have refurbed my gym, impressed so far, the new equipment I'm interested I is the hack squat machine, power cage and trx suspension system.


----------



## Robbie (Dec 31, 2007)

I've been doing chin ups between every set of bench/OHP - maybe try that


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Robbie said:


> I've been doing chin ups between every set of bench/OHP - maybe try that


That's how I'm fitting them in, taking 2 mins rest before I attempt pull ups then 3 mins rest before next set of bench, will eventually do sets of 10 even if last 5 are assisted.

All my pull ups are full length, non of that half rep rubbish some people do, also last rep is always hold at top and lower slowly


----------



## Robbie (Dec 31, 2007)

strongr said:


> That's how I'm fitting them in, taking 2 mins rest before I attempt pull ups then 3 mins rest before next set of bench, will eventually do sets of 10 even if last 5 are assisted.
> 
> All my pull ups are full length, non of that half rep rubbish some people do, also last rep is always hold at top and lower slowly


Sounds like ours is similar. I do 5 chin ups between each set, no rest straight in to the chins and then as much rest is needed. Last OHP day worked out like

OHP 531

Bench 5x10

Chins 11x5

Dips 5x10

I will probably start adding an extra chin up to each set...

How many cycles of 531 have you done?


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Robbie said:


> Sounds like ours is similar. I do 5 chin ups between each set, no rest straight in to the chins and then as much rest is needed. Last OHP day worked out like
> 
> OHP 531
> 
> ...


This to time round d it's my 10th cycle of 531, took 6 months off weights when I started MMA, before that i did 9 cycles

My OHP day today was exactly like yours but with curl, tricep push downs and face pulls, doing each body part twice a week works out well for me, 531 is a great program

How many you cycles have you run through.


----------



## Robbie (Dec 31, 2007)

I'd never fit all that in!

I think this is cycle 4... 3 of those was on 20g of carbs! Not fun


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Deadlift 5/5/5

Warmup

5x 60

5x 72.5

3x 87.5

Work sets

5x 95

5x 110

5x 125 (required reps only)

Hack squat 50kg 10x5, slow down and fast up

Hanging leg raises 15x3, controlled movement

*TBOL* 3rd week on tbol and its kicked in, loving this oral. At the moment planning on a 4 week pct over Xmas then back on mid feb.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Bench 5/5/5

Warmup

Empty bar x10

5x 32.5

5x 40

3x 50

Work sets

5x 52.5

5x 60

5x 70 (required reps only)

Over head press, 40kg 10x5

Dumbbell rows, 12x3, 26kg, 36kg, 46kg

Barbell shrugs, 3x 20 working upto 120kg

Hammer curls, 12x3

Tricep pull downs, 15x3

Face pulls, 15x3


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Squats 5/5/5, nothing special to report, had 3 days of MMA/boxing/kick boxing, I've got start of 3's week tomorrow and having Saturday as rest day.

Warmup

Empty bar x10

5x 40

5x 52.5

3x 62.5

Work sets

5x 67.5

5x 72.5

5x 82.5 (required reps only)

Deadlifts, 95kg 10x5, used 10kg plates so my movement was larger

Trx crunches, 10x5, going to work more trx movements in, really like suspension training.

*DIET*

Started to drop weight again, started Monday at 86kg now 83.5kg, going to get to 77kg and then adjust diet again


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Press 3/3/3, did today rather yesterday, did some kick boxing yesterday instead

Warmup

Empty bar x10

5x 25

5x 30

3x 37.5

Work sets

3x 42.5

3x 50

3x 55 (required reps only)

Bench press, 50kg 10x5

Wide grip pull ups, 5x5

Barbell curls, 12x3

Tricep push down, 15x3

Face pulls, 10x3


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Deadlift 3/3/3, early morning (for a Sunday) session

Warmup

Lots of stretching, did 3 sets of 5 ass to grass squat jumps with no weight, tried to wake my cns up

5x 60

5x 72.5

3x 87.5

Work sets

3x 102.5

3x 117.5

3x 132.5 (required reps only)

Suppose to do squats (60kg 10x5) but 5/6 reps in my knee felt odd, didn't want to risk it so gave it a rest and just finished off with ab work.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Bench press 3/3/3, I woke up Monday morning and seems I've tweaked a muscle in my back during the deadlifts on the Sunday, feels very knotted, ive not trained all week, going to see my physio on Tuesday

Warmup

Empty bar x10

5x 37.5

5x 40

3x 50

Work sets

3x 52.5

3x 62.5

3x 72.5 (required reps only)

I did 3 sets of 10 seated hammer shoulder press

Preacher curls 4x12

One arm tricep push downs 3x15 per arm

Cable tricep press with ez bar attachment 2x20

Didn't do my back work because of the injury, suppose to be squats tomorrow but think I might just do a big leg session, deadlifts and squats will be off the cards for a few weeks but I should still be able to wok around my back and do the assistance exercises.

When it comes time to increase my lifts ill only add weight to the press movements, squat and deadlifts can stay the same for another meso-cycle.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Squat 3/3/3, I've given my back some rest so decided to try squats.

Started with plenty of stretching and a bit of stationary bike work to warm up

Warmup

Empty bar x10

5x 40

5x 47.5

3x 57.5

Felt ok belt less up until here

Work sets

3x 67.5 (flat back twinge so re-racked weight and out my belt in, did all 3 reps near enough **** touching the floor)

3x 77.5

3x 87.5 (required reps only,all 7 sets felt easy and very smooth, **** was almost on the floor every rep)

3x20 seated calf raises worked upto 100kg

3x20 laying leg curls

3x20 seated single leg extensions finished with 20 full reps and 10 half reps in last set

Happy with that workout, concentrating on my legs for a bit, high reps works best for me, I will eventually be adding in extra exercises and hammering my core

Switched to an IF diet for a change, 16/8, feel like i have more energy and working out fasted isn't to bad


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Press 5/3/1, back is feeling good after 3 days of MMA and a sports massage

Warmup

Empty bar x10

5x 25

5x 30

3x 37.5

Work sets

5x 45

3x 52.5

1x 57.5 (managed 3 reps)

10x5 bench press with 50kg


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Deadlift 5/3/1

Warmup

5x 60

5x 72.5

3x 87.5

Work sets

5x 110

3x 125

1x 140 (managed 5 reps)

Happy with this as back is still on the mend and on IF diet, 1800 to 2000 cals a day, feeling really good on It more energy through the day and feel less bloated


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Bench 5/3/1

Had 2 days of kick boxing/MMA so wanted to chuck in some weights, feeling good in the IF diet still, managing it very well.

Warmup

20x empty bar

5x 32.5

5x 40

3x 50

Work sets

5x 60

3x 70

1x 77.5 (managed 3 reps, had another 2 in the rank but decided I was happy with the 3)

It looked like blazin squad was having a day hanging around the squat rack doing inclines so I couldn't be ****d to wait for them to finish, moved onto 1 arm rows, worked upto 1 set of 10 with 45kg which i was happy with

Tricep push downs 100 reps ranging from 30kg and a final set of 10 with around 65kg

Important things out the way, felt good so decided to leave, 45 minutes of weights

I've been doing some reading up on defranco and also some westside articles, looking at ways to incorporate things in the future


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Squat 5/3/1

Warmup

10x empty bar

5x 40

5x 52.5

3x 62.5

Work sets

5x 72.5

3x 82.5

1x 92.5 (managed 3 reps, had more to give but left knee still feels ****)

Packed up my stuff and went home, going to Sunderland tonight to see 4 friends all fight on the same show.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Cycle number 11, Press 5/5/5

Apart from a wonky knee I'm feeling really good, this cycle I'm aiming for high reps on assistance, first week will be seeing what I can do and then work to those rep ranges and try to improve

Still following an IF based diet, food intake about 85% to plan, but managed to knock off 1% body fat in around 2 weeks



> Warmup
> 
> Empty bar x20
> 
> ...


Deadlift tomorrow with squat assistance work, hopefully knee will hold out, not looking forward to high rep squats.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Deadlift 5/5/5



> Plenty of stretching to warm up the did this
> 
> Warmup
> 
> ...


TB-500 arrived ths morning, first shot done, hopefully it lives upto it's reputation and rots my injuries out


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Bench Press 5/5/5



> Face pulls, high rep empty bar to warm up
> 
> Warmup
> 
> ...


Felt happy with this workout, when my knees ok I'm going to do treadmill hiit on upper days and boxing hiit on lower days.... Or that's the plan.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Squat 5/5/5

Warm up with foam roller and the stick, then stretched and did 20x body weight squats then 20x empty bar



> Warmup
> 
> 5x 40
> 
> ...


Really wanted to do deadlift assistance and have a good workout but felt my knee complain so left it that.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Press 3/3/3



> Warm up with face pulls and one set on 20 presses with an empty bar
> 
> Warmup
> 
> ...


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Deadlift 3/3/3

Didn't really warm up apart from stretching as I'd been out Xmas shopping with my other half all day, grip was nice and warm from all her bags ;-)



> Warmup
> 
> 5x 60
> 
> ...


This was my first lower body workout with my rehband 7mm old style knee sleeve, helped keep my knee stable.

I just realised I will have finished my 12th cycle of 531 end of December, I'm planning on goi g for PBs on the last week December so I have one fresh numbers to work from for 2013, going to be training with a friend so should have some video evidence of the lifts.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Bench Press 3/3/3

Fasted workout as normal, feeling really good.



> Warmup
> 
> Empty bar x20 then 10x half to top and 10x bottom to half
> 
> ...


.

Friend of mine just competed in the GBPF last weekend, it's given me some realistic numbers to aim for before I consider doing it.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Squat 3/3/3

Fasted workout as normal, squats felt smooth, warmup was foam rolling at home and I did agile-8 stretches before I squatted, all so warmed up with a set of assisted pistols, 7 per leg



> Warmup
> 
> Empty bar x10 then 10x
> 
> ...


Next week is the start of my 5/3/1 week, I was going to do another cycle of 5/3/1 then do some new pb's but since I'm feeling good (maybe TB-500 is making me feel like this) I'm going to spend my 5/3/1 week doing some PB's to usevas fresh numbers or next year


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

MMA most this week, but today I attempted my 1rep max military press, managed 65kg, my training max is currently 62.5, I use to struggle with 25kg when my shoulder was ****ed.

Start of the year I managed 42.5kg 1rep max, today was 65kg, new 1rep max PB and that's 22.5kg improvement in 11 months.

Next year ill be happy with another 22.5kg improvement, New Years resolution "get stronger"


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Just done a max squat, managed 130kg with full depth but on 140kg I don't think went low enough, I had to fight to get it back up but 140kg is my new max squat.

I did try a 160kg deadlift as I've done before but couldn't lock out, going to rest a few days and then try it again.


----------



## DigIt (Jun 20, 2012)

just seen this, subbed. nice lifts so far bud your starting 1rm's are similar to my predicted 1rms


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Today i went for my bench press PB, hit my first ever tripple digit bench press, i hit 105kg, very shakey but managed to press it, agaain im really happy with that one, going to rest the weights a few days while i do a bit of Thai boxing and then retry my deadlift, looking for 170kg upwards as ive pulled 165/170 before.


----------



## DigIt (Jun 20, 2012)

strongr said:


> Today i went for my bench press PB, hit my first ever tripple digit bench press, i hit 105kg, very shakey but managed to press it, agaain im really happy with that one, going to rest the weights a few days while i do a bit of Thai boxing and then retry my deadlift, looking for 170kg upwards as ive pulled 165/170 before.


nice going mate 100k bench broke!

what are you benching for a working set?


----------



## BoxerJay (Jan 11, 2011)

Going well mate keep it up, just don't neglect your speed training!


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

DigIt said:


> nice going mate 100k bench broke!
> 
> what are you benching for a working set?


My last real lift was 75kg for 8 reps, my 1 rep max gave me around an estimated 95kg 1 rep max, I'm farely close to my estimated maxes as I am with the actual lift.

105kg was a struggle, bar was all over the place on the way up, 100kg felt ok but 105 really pushed me to my limits, I did have a spotter but all he did was help get it up from the bench, I pressed and re-racked it, wish I had a video of it.

Lift was power lifter style so very tricep dominant


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

BoxerJay said:


> Going well mate keep it up, just don't neglect your speed training!


Speed, explosiveness and endurance will be a big part of my training in 2013, spending 13 weeks on smolov while also maintaining other lifts and will include lots of speed work, want to be able to hit hard and fast next year.


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Had a few days doing MMA and today managed my max rep, pulled 165kg, happy with that.

On the way home i managed to spin out on a round about miss every car around me and mount a grass verge, very lucky no one hit me.

Car seems ok, just need to wait until its dry so I can go give it a run out


----------



## Strongr (Oct 4, 2012)

Over the next week or so I'm having some down time from the gym, MMA has closed until January so any niggles will heal, and with the strength training ill be deloading, going to start a new log for 2013.


----------

