5/3/1 Full-Body: Cycle 5. Week 3. Bench/Dead

BW - 203

Pause Squats -
BarX5
95X5
135X5, 5
185X3
210X3
235X1

Lunges - BW 5 sets of 10

Bench-
BarX15
95X5, 5
130X5
150X3
165X6

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5, 5
225X5
260X3
290X8

Tough session, but with some good results.  This was the last week of 531 Full Body.  I have a tight schedule this week with 2 public readings and rehearsals for same.  Also, I'm going to try and squeeze 2+ full cycles of 531 BBB in before I start rehearsing my next show after the new year.  Therefore, I made the executive decision to combine my last 2 Full Body sessions into one, so that I can start BBB this weekend.  The big loss here is that I had to drop my final session of Kolkovs.  Everything else that got skipped (chins, leg curls) will be present in the next phase.

Pause Squats felt solid.

My quads felt mega-pumped after the 5X10 lunges.

165X6 is a tiny, tiny all-around PR on the bench close-grip and pausing every rep on the chest.  I was hoping to go for 8, but 6 was a grind.  The 150X3 was the best feeling set of the bench session as far as tightness of set-up.  Feeling positive about the adjustments I've made, and the results.

290X8 is also a small all-around PR on Deadlift.  I started making a small adjustment here, which is basically just keeping my hips a tad higher.  The bar still banged the fuck out of my knees, but didn't tear up my shins at all.  The last couple reps here were also really tough grip wise, and the final rep BARELY locked out.  I still managed to hold the weight at the top for a second or two, but I could be beginning to see the upper limit of my double-overhand grip.