Brian (2/9)

Squat 45x10, 45x10, 95x5, 135x5, 165x3, 190x3, 215x7
Box Squat 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 165x5, 190x5, 215x5

Brian (2/5 and 2/7)

Went skiing all weekend. Tried to deadlift the day I got home. Bad idea.

(2/5)
Deadlift 135x5, 225x5, 245x5, 290x5, 315x5

Stopped after this. Too tired.

(2/7)
Military 45x10, 45x10, 65x5, 75x5, 90x5, 100x8
Bench 45x10, 95x5, 135x5x3
Snatch 12x3 @ 55lbs
Hangclean 3x10 @ 55lbs

Brian (1/29)

Deloaded after my 1-week, then took a few days off because of a minor injury. Starting cycle #2 of 5/3/1. Training maxes (90% of these numbers): 265/235/415/130

Squat
45x10, 45x10, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 180x5, 200x10

Deficit Deadlift
135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 185x5, 185x5

Brian (1/14)

Weight: 168
1-rep week of first 5/3/1 cycle.

Deadlift
135x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 345x5

Dropped the 6th one just before lockout. Stupid grip.

Powerclean 40kgx5, 40x5, 50x3, 60x3, 70x2, 75x2, 80x1
Box Squat 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5

Brian (1/12)

Weight: 166

(1/11)
Bench
1x20 @135

Stupid post-practice competition to see who can do the most presses @135lbs. One of the guys got 27 reps, which I thought was pretty good. Legit presses too; no bouncing. I estimated 15-20 and ended up with 20. It was fun, but stupid, especially since we were completely dead from practice. I now know my 20-rep max. Boo yah.

(1/12)
Military
45x10, 45x10, 45x10, 75x5, 85x5, 95x3, 105x6

Dumbell Row 5x10 @60
Tricep Pulldowns 3x10 @40
Pullups 3x5

Brian (1/9)

Weight=165.

Squat
45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 195x3, 220x5

Front Squat
45x5, 95x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5

Deficit Deadlift 3x5 @135

Track
400meters: 77s, 72s, 75s (180s breaks)
200meters: 32s, 32s, 32s (120s breaks)

Brian (1/8)

Practice for 2 hours (sprinting, agility, etc) before lifting.

This is the start of the 1-week of my first cycle.

Bench
45x10, 95x5, 135x5, 150x5, 175x3, 195x5

Felt good to get 5 after I was already pretty tired from practice. On to squats!

Dumbell Rows 5x10 @55

That was all I had time for.

Brian (1/5)

Last day of first cycle, 3-rep week.

Deadlift
135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 255x3, 290x3, 330x6

I'm not very good at doing high rep deadlift. I've watched Shanker in the past, and currently I've been trying to pay a lot of attention to Frank, and it seems that these guys (who are good deadlifters and frequently pull high reps) spend microseconds on the ground between sets. There's a fine line between bouncing off the ground and waiting too long, and they seem to be right in the middle. I can't seem to do this, even at low weights. So I end up completely resetting between every rep. This is time consuming and tiring. On heavy weights it feels suboptimal. I don't really know how to 'fix it' yet.

Front Squat 5x5 @ 50kg
Dumbell Lunge 3x5 @ 50lb
Box Squat 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5
Good Morning 3x10 @ 45

Haven't squatted in a while. Wanted to get some fast, explosive squats in.

Brian (1/3)

Military
45x10, 45x10, 45x10, 80x3, 90x3, 100x9

Not a bad number for my 3 set.

Bench
95x5, 135x5, 135x5, 160x5, 160x5, 160x5

Didn't get to lift in a while, wanted to just do some presses.

Dumbell Rows 5x10 @50
Pullups 3x5
Dips 3x10

Indoor track: 800m @ 2:45; 4x40m sprints; throwing.

Brian 12/26 and 12/27

12/26
Plyos and cardio w/ wrestling team, then wrestling for 2 hours.

I had lift with some pretty shitty equipment in a cold weight room -- my old high school is really poor and it gets worse every time I go back. The bars were just full of rust (my hands were completely orange when I finished). The bench was shaky and looked like half of it had been chopped off so I had to set up really far down; it made lifting the bar off next to impossible. In any case, life goes on.

Bench
10x45, 5x95, 5x135, 3x140, 3x160, 6x185
Dumbell Rows 5x10 @50
200meter sprints 33/31/31/29 (90 second breaks)

12/27
Plyos and cardio w/ wrestling team, then wrestling for 1 hour.
Squat
10x45, 5x135, 3x160, 3x185, 8x205

Did the "not doing jack shit" variety for this squat day. I can't wait to get back to the Z. Lifting in other gyms is really challenging, especially when the equipment sucks and the building doesn't have any heat.

Going to run some hill sprints today.

Brian (12/21)

Deadlift
5x135, 5x185, 5x235, 5x275, 8x310

Powerclean
3x40kg, 3x50kg, 3x60kg, 2x70kg, 2x70kg, 2x70kg

Front Squat
8x40kg, 8x40kg, 8x50kg

Good Morning
10x45, 10x95, 10x95, 10x45

Glute Ham Raise
0x0 (I'm the worst ever at these)

Brian (12/20)

Weight: 166

Military Press
10x45, 5x65, 5x75, 5x85, 10x95

Dumbell Row 5x10x50
Close Grip Bench 3x8x95
Widegrip Pullups 5x10
Tricep Pulldown 5x10x40

Brian - 5/3/1

Hello all.

Glad to see the blog is getting some activity again. I thought I would post in order to contribute and also to get advice about / log my new program.

So, I'm playing for MIT's ultimate team. I practice 3-4 times per week and generally I'd categorize this as "endurance sprinting." Basically long periods of running with lots of short bursts of sprinting. Think soccer.

As posted on here a few months ago I went back to starting strength while I got used to the practice schedule. I reset once in the middle. In general I found starting strength boring and sort of unmotivating (I mentally need cycles), but I know others have had good experiences with it. The beginners on the team have made great progress.

I read the 5/3/1 book and I like the concept, plus the workouts can be short. I think this is something I can really use even during the upcoming season.

I tested maxes in order to have a good starting point for 5/3/1. I didn't kill myself to hit huge numbers (esp on squat), I just wanted a benchmark. My maxes as of last week:

Weight: 162lbs
Squat: 265
Bench: 225
Deadlift: 405
Military: 125
Powerclean: 85kg

I'm going to run 5/3/1 four times per week. Days will depend on practice schedule. I'm using 90% of the above numbers as my first "training max" to calculate the rest of the program.

Sets look like this:
Week 1: 1x5, 1x5, 1x5+
Week 2: 1x3, 1x3, 1x3+
Week 3: 1x5, 1x3, 1x1+
Week 4: 3x5 (deload)

Weight looks like this:
Week 1: 65%, 75%, 85%
Week 2: 70%, 80%, 90%
Week 3: 85%, 90%, 95%
Week 4: 40%, 50%, 60%

Assistance exercises will be generally 5 sets of 10ish reps. I'm going to using powerclean as my "main lift" instead of military.

My days are probably going to be:

(1) Powerclean - military - snatch and/or front squat
(2) Deadlift - Good morning - Glute Ham Raise
(3) Bench - Dumbell row - Some tricep variation
(4) Squat - front squat and/or lunge - leg press

I did 2 workouts so far, I'll just super briefly log them here:

--12/17--
Bench: 130x5, 150x5, 170x10
Dumbell row: 45x5x10
Dumbell incline: 45x5x8
Dips: 5x10

--12/18--
Squat: 150x5, 170x5, 195x8
Legpress: 90x10, 140x10, 180x10, 230x10, 230x10

I know a few of you guys have run 5/3/1 before, so if you have any advice I would definitely appreciate it.

Chris - 5/3/1 Cycle 8, Wave A

About Cycle 8:
Anticipated Maxes from Last Cycle:
Squat: 415
Bench: 220
Deadlift: 470
Military Press: 160

Anticipated Maxes This Cycle:
Squat: 420 (+5)
Bench: 225 (+5)
Deadlift: 475 (+5)
Military Press: 162.5 (+2.5)

Mon: Jogging/Complexes
Tue: 5/3/1 Squat, Bench Assistance, a bit of HIIT after
Wed: Jogging/Complexes
Thu: 5/3/1 Deadlift, 5/3/1 Military Press, Assistance HIIT
Fri: Jogging/Complexes
Sat: 5/3/1 Bench, Squat Assistance, HIIT

Squat Assistance:
Squat: 2x5@75% after 5/3/1 sets
Pause Squat: 3x3@75% after 5/3/1 bench

Bench Assistance:
Bench Press: 2x5@85% after 5/3/1 sets
Pause Bench: 3x3@85% after 5/3/1 squat
Dumbbell Rows

Deadlift Assistance:
Mid-Shin Pulls: 2x5@75% after 5/3/1 sets

Military Press Assistance:
Military Press: 2x5@85% after 5/3/1 sets

Other:
Chinups: LOTS
Dips: PLENTY
Cable Crunches: Stackx14x3


With that out of the way:
5/30:
complexes

5/31:
Squat:
45x5; 95x5; 150x5; 185x5; 225x3
245x5; 285x5; 320x6
Weak. I blame deload and increased conditioning for now.

285x5x2

Pause Bench:
45x5; 85x5; 105x5; 130x3
140x3; 160x3; 180x3x3

Chinups: 8x4
Dips: 12x4
ERG: 2200m

6/1:
Hamster runnin'/walkin', 3 miles

6/2:
Deadlift:
135x5; 170x5; 215x5; 255x3
280x5; 320x5; 365x8
I still got it?

Mid-Shin Pulls (red+green):
320x5x2

Military Press:
45x5; 60x5; 75x5; 90x3
95x5; 110x5; 125x6
Unusual, but I'll take it.

110x5x2

Chinups: 9x3
Cable Crunches: Stackx14x3
ERG: 2200m

6/3:
complexes

6/4:
Bench Press:
45x5; 85x5; 105x5; 130x3
140x5; 160x5; 180x8
This was a struggle.

180x5x2
This wasn't.

Pause Squat:
45x5; 95x5; 150x5; 185x5; 225x3
245x3; 275x3x3

Chinups: 9x3
Dumbbell Rows: 100x20
ERG: 2100m

Chris: 5/3/1, Cycle 5 notes and plans for Cycle 6

YES I KNOW THIS IS LATE

5/3/1 Cycle 5:
Anything of note?
-Elbow problems again. Should either sleeve or do less press volume.
-Adopting a 3x/week schedule instead of the 4x/week schedule, structured as follows:

Day 1:
Squat 5/3/1
Squat Assistance
Bench Assistance

Day 2:
Deadlift 5/3/1
Military Press 5/3/1
Deadlift Assistance
Military Press Assistance

Day 3:
Bench 5/3/1
Bench Assistance
Squat Assistance

This means my military press will suffer, but something has to give.

-I really need to be more consistent about my assistance work, but I won't put a lot of worry into this until I start stalling out.

Notable lifts? (Wendler's Progress-o-meter Equation in parens.)
SQ: 330x7 (407)
BP: 190x5 (222)
DL: 395x6 (474)
MP: 130x4 (147)

The plan?
Cycle 6 Weights:
SQ: 405 -> 410 @ 90%
BP: 210 -> 215 @ 95%
DL: 460 -> 465 @ 90%
MP: 150 -> 155 @ 90%

Assistance (some exercises might show up in two lifts)
SQ: More squatting, good mornings, pause squat
BP: More benching, pause bench, dumbbell rows, chinups, dips
DL: Mid-shin pulls/good mornings
MP: More pressing, chinups, dips
Other: Hanging windshield wipers, ab rollers, cable crunches

"More $lift" means that I'll do two or three extra sets of five at ~80% or whatever feels speedy.

Let's do this.

Chris - 5/3/1 Cycle 5

Cycle 4 weights:
BP: 205
SQ: 400
DL: 455
MP: 145

All work sets felt about right in terms of difficulty.

Cycle 5 weights and percentages used to calculate training maxes:
BP: 210 (+5), 95%
SQ: 405 (+5), 90%
DL: 460 (+5), 90%
MP: 150 (+5), 90%

Assistance lifts:
BP: Military Press 5/3/1, Bench Press (paused?), Dumbbell Rows
SQ: Back Squat, Deficit Deadlifts (at least until my thumbs stop hurting when I employ a hook grip)
DL: Front Squat (Good Mornings? Abdominal work?)
MP: Bench Press 5/3/1, Chinups, Military Press

Routine.

5/3/1 Cycle 4 Plan

Way overdue.

Weights for Cycle 3:
BP: 195
Squat: 395
Deadlift: 450
Military Press: 140

- Bench press work was easy. Intensity gets upped.
- Squat was hard, but with a training 1RM close to my actual predicted 1RM, this is to be expected.
- Deadlift felt much harder, but brought rep ranges down to reasonable levels.
- Military press felt about par for the course.
- Prowler work is very fun! I feel like these should be left for Saturday because I don't really want to do anything after...
- My right shoulder hurt coming into last cycle's 5/3/1 week. I wonder if this is because of the extra press work or barbell complexes...?

So, new weights for Cycle 4:
BP: 205 (+10)
Squat: 400 (+5)
Deadlift: 455 (+5)
Military Press: 145 (+5)

For training maxes of:
BP: 194.75 (taking 95% here, 90% everywhere else)
Squat: 360
Deadlift: 409.5
MP: 130.5

Assistance:
Bench Press: Dumbbell Rows, Military Press, Dips if I have time
Squat: Snatch-grip Deadlift
Deadlift: Front Squat
Military Press: Chinups, Bench Press

Barbell complexes on Monday and Thursday. Sprint work or Prowler work on Wednesday and Saturday.

5/3/1 Programs from UCLA

My buddy Dave sent me a few programs that UCLA uses:

"I saw the guys on your blog mentioning 5/3/1 and how it wasn't working. I thought i might pass along the past three 5/3/1 training splits we've done. These are based on the 20+ years of training logs from my coach in Seattle (Todd Christensen), and have worked really well for the guys here. There were a bunch of variations for different individuals, but the core lifts were the same."

You can find them here:

First
Second
Third

Chris - 11/18, 11/20

11/18: 5/3/1 Deload, Bench Press
Bench Press:
65x5; 85x5; 95x3
65x5; 85x5; 95x5
95x10; 95x10; 95x10

Dumbbell Rows:
40x10; 60x5; 80x20

11/20: 5/3/1 Deload, Deadlift
Deadlift:
140x5; 175x5; 210x3
140x5; 175x5; 210x5
192x10; 192x10; 192x10

Good Mornings:
45x5; 70x5; 95x5; 120x5; 135x5
145x10; 145x10; 145x10

Snatch:
55xwhatever

I think it's a bit early to tell what does or doesn't work for me for 5/3/1. Considering switching bench press/military assistance to pyramiding sets, or even doing bonus sets of bench on military press days and vice versa, just so I can get more heavy-ish work in, but we'll see. And my squat and deadlift days wipe me out enough as is, so no planned changes there.

Planned jumps for next cycle, which might have to start after Thanksgiving:
Bench: 180.5lbs -> 185.5lbs (+5)
Squat: 385.0lbs -> 390.0lbs (+5)
Deadlift: 385.0lbs -> 395.0lbs (+10)
Military Press: 127.0lbs -> 132.0lbs (+5)

For training maxes of [166.95, 351, 355, 118.8]. Let's see how it goes.

5/3/1 Programming

If you are working several different lifts on a 5/3/1 program, do you want all of the de-loading cycles to coincide?  Should the cycles for the different lifts be in phase or staggered?

Thanks.