5x5, week 1, day 1

Squat
85 x 5
105 x 5
135 x 5
150 x 5
175 x 5

BP
65 x 5
85 x 5
100 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5

Row
45 x 5
55 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5

Back raises
BW x 10 x 5


Left out the weighted crunches as I was beginning to feel gassed and the wife was training with me. I was originally going to be doing RDLs but was feeling it by the end of rows. I may try again next week. All in all, a great-feeling workout and pretty easy at that. I'm using the light, first week as a segway in that it's also going to be the deload week coming off of the 5/3/1 cycle I just finished. That's all for now, until next time!


And, Happy Thanksgiving!

Summary: 5/3/1 #2 (Oct-Nov)

Here's the look at the final numbers:

Bench:
155 x 3

MP
105 x 4

DL
245 x 5

Squat
195 x 3 (4th rep, back loosened)




I found that the squats this past Wednesday was hampered two-fold: one, I think I was getting fatigued from the deadlifts on Saturday, still sore. Second, the accumulative load the past 8 weeks without a rest week took it's toll on an already questionable L. knee; as far as as stability goes.



At any rate, I'm taking a week off. Not only for the muscle soreness, but also for the CNS to recover from all the excessive loading.



As for my decision to convert to a 5x5 program after two successful cycles of 5/3/1, the mantra "don't fix something that ain't broke" comes to mind. Still, the change of scenery would be welcome and I'm highly curious about it as well. Something I'm wondering about is whether or not I could tolerate the volume of squats (3x a week as opposed to just one), but the with the different loads and emphasize on different days I think I'd do well.

I think I'll try out the 5x5 again for one round, and see how it goes. If anything else, I can always return to the 5/3/1 when I'm done.

Week 2 Summary, Upcoming week of singles

Some retro posting before I head out for deadlift singles. I'm still thinking of switching over to the 5x5 for December to decrease the volume and keep the intensity high. I'll meditate on this further and should be decided by this 5/3/1 cycle's end.




Triples a week or so ago (before drill weekend) went without any notable hitches.

SQT

80 x 5
100 x 5
125 x 5
145 x 3
165 x 3
185 x 10

RDL
85 x 10
85 x 10
85 x 10
85 x 10
85 x 10

Step-ups
Sandbag x 10
Sandbag x 10
Sandbag x 10
Sandbag x 10
Sandbag x 10


MP
45 x 5
55 x 5
65 x 3
75 x 3
85 x 3
95 x 3

Lat PD (Iso bar)
55 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 10

Ended the day earlier than usual.

DL (After drill weekend. Recovering from the flu)

135 x 5
150 x 3
175 x 3
200 x 3
235 x 6

Fr SQT

95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10

Then, I started early (earlier than usual) on the singles. I attempted squats a mere two, or three, days after the pulls and busted the knee. It was bad enough that I ended the night early and finished the bench triples (forgot about them earlier in the week.)

SQT
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 3
155 x 5 L. Knee pain

RDL - Did not finish

Step ups - DNF



BP
65 x 5
95 x 5
100 x 3
115 x 3
135 x 3
150 x 3

Incl DB BP
40 x 10
40 x 8
40 x 7
40 x 6
40 x 6

No rows, finished the night early. I was pretty bummed and my knee was getting sore. Plus, the gym was closing soon.

The Flu

An unruly combo of the flu, jury duty, and drill weekend has set me back a week behind. Oh well. I'm hoping to jump back into it tomorrow and finish off this cycle before trying out 5x5 for a month.

5x5 eh? I'll tell more later. In the meantime, I'll be popping cough drops and sleeping.