5/3/1 - Back from the Dead(lift)

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 1

Squats - 135 lbs x 5, 195 x 3, 220 x 3
240 lbs x 8

RDLS - 2 x 53 lbs kb x 15,15
BW Rows - x 15, 12
Push-ups x 20,20

Felt better this week on everything. Squats still take some time before they feel solid. Actually, the main set always feel the best in terms of weight, movement. This is optimal I suppose but I’ve always really struggled with bracing and the motion. Long legs I suppose, or hip anatomy or whatever. Maybe that’s why high frequency squatting programs have helped me.

However, I want to stick with 5/3/1 and not make the same mistake I always do of program hopping. I will trust in time with constant practice, I will improve and the movement will as well.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 2

Bench Press - 95 lbs x 5, 125 x 5
145 x 5x 5 sets

Inc Rows - 55 lbs x 15
Inc D bell Press - 55 lbs x 12

Cable face pulls, ext, curls

Hope everyone had a great Holiday!

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 3 OFF

Day 4
Deadlifts - 210 lbs x 3, 235 x 3, 260 x 5
210 lbs x 5 x 5

Dips, Rows, BSS

Deadlifts moving fine. Some light reverse hypers for blood flow. Toning down on the extra work a little since the big lifts take a lot of time and volume.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 4

Press - 80 lbs x 5, 90 x 5, 100 x 5
80 x 5 x 10 sets
Pullups - 4 x 15 sets

Kb Press, Prowler

omitted arm work today. Not sure I need it all that much rn. It’s quite BBC a bit of volume already. Did two extra trips on the prowler with 70 lbs.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day I

Squat - 205 x 5, 230 x 3, 255 x 1

Reset
Squat - 155 x 5, 170 x 6, 185 x 15

Push-ups - 10,10,25
Bw Rows - 10,10, 20
Rdls - 35 lbs x 20,20

Went for 255 and it felt awful. I’m too tight, too weak. Bumped my training max wayyyyy down for squats. Finally got some better practice in. Breathe.

I was frustrated but hey, gotta get back. The 185 set felt actually productive so, I’ll take this as a positive.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 2

Bench Press - 115 x 5, 135 x 5
155 lbs. x 5 x 5

Inc Rows - 25 x 20, 35 x 20, 45 x 20
Inc D-bell press - “”

Prowler Walks - 90 lbs x 6 walks

Bench is going smoothly and pretty easy for the end of the first cycle. The close grip feels pretty good. However, incline press feels a little wonky for my silly shoulder, even with light weights. Adjustments possible.

Prowler walks I think are better then the sprints, simply because I think getting my foot completely flat is more beneficial. Felt a greater stretch in my calves/Achilles area and my glutes got pumped. Back was feeling better after. Also, I can load up more weight.

 

[Hung]

Welcome back

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Welcome back

Thank you sir! Good to be home

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 4

Deadlifts - 215 lbs x 5, 245 lbs x 3, 275 x 5
215 x 5 x 5

Dips- 15,15,20
Curls - 30 lbs x 8,8
BSS - 20 lbs x 15,15

Starting to feel better overall.

 

[Hung]

Thank you sir! Good to be home

let see all the planche and front lever has any direct carry over to DL

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

let see all the planche and front lever has any direct carry over to DL

They did back In the day! I don’t think o got the same benefits this time around though, namely because I haven’t done them in months due to some issues . But I was able to pull this deadlift with a huge, horwitzer barrelled pipe with around 156 kgs when I was doing more planche/FL work.

January 5, 2024

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[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 4

Press - 85 lbs x 5, 95 x 5, 105 x 5
85 x 5 x 10 sets

Pullups - 5 x 15 sets (75)

Cable High Pulls - 20,20,20
Flat D bell press - 40 lbs x 20,20,25

Prowler Walks.

Press - Top Set

January 5, 2024

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Most pull-ups I’ve done in a session in a while! I’m happy my shoulder is feeling great and not over a month ago, I could barely do a single pull-up. I tweaked something in my lat area which unraveled all my training in Calisthenics. I couldn’t even hold a tuck lever and was despondent for a while. Now, I’m starting to gain momentum and feeling better overall. I’m lowering loads on assistance moves for more “pump” work and this also is helping my joints and muscle growth. Blood flow is healing.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

First cycle analysis.

Squat - I started too heavy and squats and bumped it down (a lot) the final week. It took me a while to get the groove, bar position and mobility to renew my expired squat pattern. This didn’t click until week 3 but it’s moving forward now. My shoulders and elbows were really aching initially after the Low Bar setup and even unracking the bar was giving me issues. I realized my rack height was also wrong. I did a few other practice sessions with just the bar, finding the spot on my back and a few squats and it’s feeling grooved. I’ll still push the reps for a while with a lower load.

Bench Press - this has felt really easy so far but still paying attention to all the details, the unrack, back position, wrists, eccentric et al. I’ll stick with the closer grip for a while. Also, all paused.

January 5, 2024

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Deadlift - not bad but can be better. I feel I’m dropping my hips super low and my knees are a bit forward almost like a clean setup. I think my mobility (hamstrings) was also lacking until recently. It’s improving (thanks to RDL’s and consistent mobility/stretching) Want to work on setup and wedging. I’ve been shadow deadlifting (just whenever without a bar and working on the hinge). Pushing the hips back to descend to bar then bending knees just before the lift may be a more optimal setup for me. That way I’m not adding to much ROM and pushing the bar away with my shins. However, this had helped me get the quads to “jump” the weight off the floor quite effectively.

January 5, 2024

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Press - is fine. Super high volume, my grip also very narrow right now. I think the narrower grip on all pressing is more beneficial. My wide grip is stronger on both but narrow builds wide better than the inverse.

Instead of taking a deload since I’m picking up momentum, I will cycle back the squat, deadlift and press but continue going up on the bench until I find a rep range that is a little more challenging but not too heavy.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 5 (bodybuilding gap day)

Chest flies - 15 lbs + light band x 10 x 3 sets
Rear delt flies - 5 lbs x 15 x 3 sets
Inc Curls - 25 lbs x 8 x 2 sets
French Press - 60 lbs x 2 sets

Ham curls, bike, abs

Just a light pump day to fill in the gaps since all of my lifts during the week are compound movements. Very easy and fun. My quads are sad. The bike showed me this. Might be a reason for squat difficulties. I think my glutes tend to hog all my lower body lifts, including split squats.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 1
Squats - 135 x 5, 155 x 5, 175 x 5

195 x 16, 155 x 20

Push-ups - 15,15,30
BW Rows -15,15,15
RDL - 2 x 40 kg x 20,15


The first set is done low bar and the second high bar with heels elevated. I wanted 20 w 195 and I’m sure I had it but I put the belt on way too tight! I could barely get any air in by the 16th rep.

I wanted more “quad” work so I decided the widowmaker will be done on a slant and high bar style. Other than the belt fiasco, squats felt solid but pretty wiped for assistance work following.

195 low bar x 16

January 8, 2024

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155 high bar

January 8, 2024

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[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 2

Bench Press - 95 x 5, 135 x 5, 150 x 3
165 x 5 x 5

Inc Rows - 45 lbs x 15,15,20
Inc Dbell Press - 45 lbs x 15,15,20

Backwards sled drags.

Good session, bench feels appropriate weight. May widen a finger for next week so it’s pinky on the rings. Reaching ceiling for close grip. I remember when I did 5 x 5 on competition grip w/ 190 lbs, I pressed a solid 245 lbs. my close grip has always been weaker. I remember I did a close grip cycle, going no higher then 170 for 5-6 reps and successfully pressed 225 for the first time ever, followed by 235 the same day. This was years ago.

I focused on feeling the e pecs during incline press, and the exercise felt a lot better. Sleddrags are pretty easy. Threw in 4 plates and a quarter and they weren’t much trouble.

January 10, 2024

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[Spartan Agoge]

Day 5 (bodybuilding gap day)

Chest flies - 15 lbs + light band x 10 x 3 sets
Rear delt flies - 5 lbs x 15 x 3 sets
Inc Curls - 25 lbs x 8 x 2 sets
French Press - 60 lbs x 2 sets

Ham curls, bike, abs

Just a light pump day to fill in the gaps since all of my lifts during the week are compound movements. Very easy and fun. My quads are sad. The bike showed me this. Might be a reason for squat difficulties. I think my glutes tend to hog all my lower body lifts, including split squats.

I like this bodybuilding day. It is a great addition to the 5/3/1.
Great exercise selection.

Some time ago I was doing a "yoke" superset.

(-Dumbbel curls x 12-15
-Dumbbell shrugs x 12-15
-lateral raises x 12-15
-dumbbel upright row x 12-15) x 3-4 rounds

You just pick a pair of relatively light dumbbells (just for the pump) and you do all 4 exercises without any break. You repeat 3-4 times.
The aesthitic results are very good. You just motivated me to start doing it again.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

I like this bodybuilding day. It is a great addition to the 5/3/1.
Great exercise selection.

Some time ago I was doing a "yoke" superset.

(-Dumbbel curls x 12-15
-Dumbbell shrugs x 12-15
-lateral raises x 12-15
-dumbbel upright row x 12-15) x 3-4 rounds

You just pick a pair of relatively light dumbbells (just for the pump) and you do all 4 exercises without any break. You repeat 3-4 times.
The aesthitic results are very good. You just motivated me to start doing it again.

Thanks @Spartan Agoge ! It’s quite fun, no?
I borrowed the idea from Christian Thibaudeau but I think it has origins in Westside (or prior to) as a weakness shoring session. I think it can be quite beneficial for lagging, lazy muscles.

Yoke work is always beneficial. Nothing erases DYEL syndrome like mountains on your shoulders scratching your ears.

 

[Philippe Geoffrion]

Day 3 OFF

Day 4 Deadlifts
225 x 5, 260 x 3, 295 x 5
225 x 5 x 5

Dips - 10,15,25
Curls - 30 lbs x Iono x 3 sets
BSS -2 x 20 lbs x 20 x 2 sets

Fooled around on deadlifts today, playing with foot position, hip position. I’ve always had weird asymmetries pop up on this lift, and most lifts at this point. I guess I should live with them while doing all I can to be as balanced as possible to prevent injury.

The problem in deadlifts comes with the grip and feet. I’ve historically changed my mix grip from left hand being souped to now right hand. In addition, I’ve meddled with narrow/wider stances and sumo.

I found wider stance makes it easier to get to the bar, however, I lose a lot of drive off the floor. I also noticed my right knee tends to cave in. This probably occurs because

1) my arm is to close to my leg
2) my right leg ankle mobility is better than my left/alternatively my left leg hip and single leg stability is stronger. I put more weight on my right side and may start lower.
3) I have weak adductors.
4) the mixed grip causes lean as well.

I pull right hand under today and noticed the discrepancy. When I did the back off sets, I started the first rep with left hand supinated. It looked the best and felt awful. Maybe because I didn’t practice it. Then I slowly kept moving my feet in until the knee couldn’t bow inwards, going quite narrow. So, a bit to unpack here.

I need a consistent deadlift setup and stance. In the past, my best pulls happened with the left hand supinated but I switched after an injury to the back. Maybe time to refresh the skill.

 

[Spartan Agoge]

You just have to find the deadlift style that suits. It may take years, but when you find it you know this is it. For me, it is wide stance conventional deadlift.

Just do not overcomplicate it. Get the slack out of the bar and then let your instinct lead the movement. That works for me at least.

ps 25 rep dips is great!