UB: Strong Week 3. Press

Defranco Shoulder mobility

Machine Neck Flexion - 25X20X3

Press -
BarX10
55X5
65X5
75X5
85X5
95X5

Upright Rows - 95X10, 6

DB Laterals - 30sX11, 6

Hanging Leg Raise - 7, 6, 6, 6, 6

10 minute trot on treadmill and 20 minute walk home

I had a friend staying with me this weekend so everything is kind of hard because of late nights, inconsistent diet, and massive quantities of alcohol.

Neck machine felt heavy.  Great.

Pressing felt fine.  Now that I'm about at the half-way mark of the cycle, I'm starting to allow more time between top sets.

UB: Strong Week 2. Squat

Defranco Mobility

Standing Calf Raises - 245X15, 305X15, 345X15

Squat -
135X5
155X5
175X5
205X5
215X5

Front Squats - 125X10, 5

RDL - 135X10, 145X9

Inline Sprints - 30 yard sprints X 9 minutes

Weird day at the gym cuz there was a PL meet happening.

Moving up the stack on the raises FWIW.  I think it tops out at 405.

Squats felt pretty good.  Not sure about my depth, though.

UB: Strong Week 2. Bench

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Machine Neck Extension - 20X20, 30X20X2

Bench -
BarX10
85X5
105X5
115X5
125X5
145X5

DB Incline Press - 55sX11, 5

Dips - Gym BW 200+10X10, 4

10 minute trot on the treadmill

Switched over to extensions on the neck machine.  I figure this will have more carry-over to the Deadlift and Squat than flexions were going to have to anything else.  However, before I decide to do them for both upper-body days I want to see how the muscles feel tomorrow.  If my neck is sore and achy, I may not want to do them on Press day, and then have them sore on Deadlift day.  OR maybe I should and make my body adapt.  Dunno.

Still hate benching.  I'm still monkeying with my set-up, and taking minimal breaks between sets while the weights are this "light."  I've done 145 for 10 reps before, but those 5 felt pretty heavy today.  Hope that's not a bad sign.

UB: Strong Week 2. Deadlift

No warm-up

Standing Calf Raises - 225X16, 265X15, 305X15

Deadlift -
145X5
165X5
195X5
215X5
235X5

Power Shrugs - 275X16, 295X10

Chin-ups - Gym BW 202X10, 4

Cable crunch - Stack + 45lb. PlateX15, Stack+60lb.X15, 18

10 minute brisk walk on treadmill

Forgot to pack shorts or sweats in my gym bag today and had to work-out in my work slacks, lol.  Skipped warm-ups to help make sure I didn't rip out the crotch.  Ridiculous.

Jumped up a few more plates on the calf raises.  Just a few away from the whole stack for whatever it's worth.  Pretty confident I'll be there by the end of the cycle.

Felt pretty focused on the DL's today and everything moved pretty smoothly.  The first or second rep almost always feels like the best, though.  That kind of seems to make sense with the way I read other lifters talking about having to program the Pull somewhat differently from the other lifts.  In the future, I may condsider keeping the reps in the 1-3 range for work-sets of this lift.  I almost feel like it would be better to do multiple sets of 2-3 at the same weight I might do 1 set of 5 with on lighter days. 

Next week my top set will be 255, and while my 5 rep max projects to be 265, 255 is actually the most I've lifted for 5 or more reps (I pulled 255X6 in the middle of my 2nd 531 cycle back in early December).  Looking forward to seeing how that feels.  Hopefully I'll be feeling focused and fresh like I was this session and everything will move smoothly.

UB: Strong Week 2. Press

Defranco Mobility work

Neck Fexion - 25X20X3

Press -
BarX5
55X5
65X5
75X5
85X5

Upright Rows - 85X13, 7

DB Laterals - 30sX10, 6

Hanging Leg Raise - 6, 5, 5, 5, 5

10 minute lope on treadmill

I'm wondering if I should be doing neck extensions instead of flexion.  Seems like it would have more carry-over to lifts.  I'll think about this.

Similar to last bench session, I only rested between sets long enought to reload the bar, so got a better work-out as a result.

UB: Strong Week 1. Squat

Defranco Mobility Work

Standing Calf Raises - 195, 225, 265X15

Squat -
135X5
145X5
175X5
185X5
205X5

Front Squats - 115X12, 6

RDL - 115X12, 135X8

Hammer and Tire - 10 minutes.  4 rounds of 20 swings "per arm."

Little bit more on the calf raises.  I expect to get up to the full stack by the end of this 6 weeks.

Squats started off feeling wonky, but I started pakcing my neck harder and everything felt better by the end of the sets.

UB: Strong Week 1. Bench

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Neck Machine - 3X20

Bench -
85X5
95X5
105X5
115X5
135X5

Incline DB Press - 55sX10, 5

Dips - Gym BW198+10lb.X11, 4

10 min. lope on the treadmill

I hate the bench.  I keep trying to dial my form in better, but sometimes that seems to make everything feel heavier.  Lately I've been focusing first on driving my upper-back into the pad.  Then I break the bar out of the rack.  Make sure my hands are straight so that the bar is above my wrists.  Look at where the bar is "at" on the ceiling to make sure it comes back to that same point every rep.  Squeeze hard, pull the bar apart, tuck elbows on the way down.  I'm having trouble the last couple of times remembering to flare the elbows while hitting my "target" on the ceiling.  Anyway this session sucked as all this shit makes it a pain in the ass.  Additionally, I was making sure to get a full touch at the bottom, and then drive that shit up.  This made sure the muscles got worked hard with relatively light weight.  However, all this shit in combination, plus only enough rest between sets to reload the bar, meant I was mentally and physically pretty taxed afterwards.

UB: Strong Week 1. Deadlift

Defranco Mobility and Stretching

Standing Calf Raises - 135X15, 195X15, 225X15

Deadlift -
135X5
155X5
185X5
205X5
225X5

Power Shrugs - 275X11, 6

Chin-ups - BW(205)X9, 5

Cable Crunches - 1/2 stack X25, Stack+40X20X2

Treadmill - Light jogging for 10 minutes

Similar to the shoulder assistance last session, this is the first time I have done direct calf work since I started training for strength.  I've always had big claves, so I kind of expected to work up to the full stack on these, but I only got about 3/4 of the way up.  Nice to have an easy target to work towards.

With the Deadlifts, it's funny that Paul Carter and one of his readers were just discussing that Deadlifting relatively light weights never "feels light" the way it does in other lifts, and that was my experience here.  135 and 185 always feel light, but once I cross 200 things feel "heavy" even if I can lift 50lbs. heavier in that rep range.  Nonetheless, I just tried to focus on form and getting some "pop" in the reps.

UB: Strong Week 1. Press

Defranco upper-body stretches

Neck Machine - 3 sets of 20

Press -
BarX5
BarX5
55X5
65X5
75X5

Upright Rows - 75X12, 7

DB Laterals - 25'sX12, 7

Hanging Leg Raise - 5, 7, 5, 6, 5

Foam-rolling at home afterwards.

First day of Ultimate Beastdom.  A really refreshing session due to the combination of light weights and few exercises.  I guess I didn't realize it, but the 2-day split I'd been doing because of my heavy rehearsal schedule had maybe been wearing me down with two ME style movements per session, plus plenty of accessory and core work.  I just felt great after this.

For the Pressing, even though the weight was light I tried to focus on driving it up fast so that I had the feeling of "coming-off-the-ground" at the top.  Just to make sure I was getting some work in there.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 3. Week 3. Bench and Squat

Defranco Stretching and Mobility work

Bench -
BarX10
95X5
135X5
155X3
170X4

Squat -
BarX10
135X5
165X5
190X5
215X3
240X3

Pulldowns, slow eccenctric - 70X12, 10, 80X10
super-set with
GHR's - 5, 5, 10

Face-pulls - 4 sets of 15-20

Core Circuit - 25lb. plate X2

Sick all week plus rehearsals and work.  Felt better in time to get to the gym, but I was about 5-8 lbs. lighter than last session.  Rep PR's in both main lifts.  Bench felt good, Squats were hard.  Probably would have been the opposite if I'd have reversed the order.  Frankly, I'm happy to have the Rep PR's with the week I had.

This was the last 531 session.  I start Paul Carter's Ultimate Beastdom next.  It's something I've had my eye on, so I thought I'd start it while I still have some "easy" gains left in me.  531 was pretty good to me, and I may come back to it.  I'm telling myself I'm not program hopping, and that I'm just a novice trying out a few different variations of the SAME KIND OF LIFTING to find out if any one iteration works better than another.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 3. Week 3. Press and Deadlift

Defranco Stretches and Mobility work

Press-
BarX10
70X5
95X5
105X3
120X3 (failed on 4)

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
225X5
250X3
280X3
super-set with
Hanging Leg-Raise - BWX5X3

Bench Dips - BW(206)X15, 15, 20

BB Split Squat - BarX8, 10, 8
super-set with
Hammer Curls - 25'sX15, 15, 10

Hammer and Tire - 2 rounds of 40 swings

Felt like crap this day.  Though I was hung over, but it turned out I was sick as I popped a fever later that night.  Originally wanted to go for 5 on my top set of Presses to close out this round of 5/3/1 with a PR, but I knew I felt weak so I went for 4 and failed.  It happens.  3 was still a Rep PR.

Deadlift was a little better, but I was only going for a small rep PR which I got.  Actually 2 would have been a Rep PR, so this might have been my best lift of the day.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 3. Week 2. Bench and Squat

Defranco Stretches

Bench -
BarX10
95X5
125X3
145X3
160X7

Squat -
BarX10
135X5
155X5
180X3
205X3
230X8

Chins (V-Grip) - BWX6, 5, 5, 5
super-set with
RDL - 85X10, 95X10X3

Push-ups - BWX10X4
super-set with
Face-pulls- 4 sets of 15

Defranco Core Circuit X2

Prowler Pushes for 10 minutes

Rep PR's and projected 1RM increases in both the Bench and Squat.  Bench was easier than the Squat, but as planned I set a bigger PR in the squat.  Great session.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 3. Week 2. Press and Deadlift

Stretches from Defranco's Simple-6 (foam-rolling at home)

Press -
BarX10
65X5
90X3
100X3
115X5

Rollovers into "V" Sits from Defranco's Agile-8

Deadlift -
135X5
175X5
205X3
235X3
265X4
super-set with
Hanging Leg Raise - BWX6, 6, 6

Dips (Gym weight 201) - BWX5, 10X5, 20X5, 25X8

One-Arm DB Rows - 65X13, 15, 10

BB Bulgarian Split Front Squats - BarX10, 8, 5

BB Curls - 45X8, 65X5, 75X5, 55X10

Hammer and Tire - 40, 40, 30

Press was weak as hell today.  That's two crap sessions in a row.  May have to look at this lift next cycle.

265X4 is a Rep PR for the Pull.  Felt a little heavy, but probably could have gutted out one or two more.  Set-up felt weird all day.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 3. Week 1. Bench and Squat

Bench -
BarX10
95X8
115X5
135X5
155X7

Squat -
BarX10
135X5
165X5
190X5
215X8

Pull-downs, Wide-grip, slow eccentric - 80X10, 12, 10
super-set with
GHR - BWX8, 8, 10

Push-Ups - BWX10X3
super-set with
Face-Pulls - 15, 15, 20

Defranco Core Circuit X2 (V-Ups, Hip-Ups, X-Body Toe Touches)

155X7 in the bench is a Rep PR.

215X8 in the Squat is a Rep PR and projects to an increased 1RM.  This was a weird session.  I felt out of it on this day until the last two work-sets.  All of a sudden the fog cleared and I felt focused, and kind of kicked ass on the set.  6 Reps would have been a Rep PR at this weight, however I want to show a much increased Squat this cycle.  Specifically I want to project 285-290.  That would let me know that my Squat is in better proportion to my other lifts than it looks right now.   To do that, I need to hit 230 for 8 next week so I wanted to get 8 reps this week as "practice."  If I get 230 for 8 next week, and then 240 for 6 after that, I will know I'm closer to the balance I want to strike.  This is balance is based partially on the idea of a Big-4 ratio of 1/1.5/2/2.5 for Press/Bench/Squat/Dead, and partly on the idea of having my Squat be VERY close to my Dead.  I know that sounds contradictory, but there is a way for it to work by striking a balance between those two ideals.  One of the reason to do this is that I'm a much better Puller than Squatter, so that is the reason to chase my Dead with my Squat.  Also, I only Squatted for 3 months while on Defranco's BLAB, and my Deadlift went up.  All of this adds up to plenty of reasons to focus on Squatting more than Deads.