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

Day 1 Week 2

Squat - 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 285 x 5
Bench Press - 135 x 1, 185 x 1, 195 x 5
Deadlift - 155 x 1, 265 x 1, 315 x 5
Chins - 5 (8 second concentric, pause at top, 8 second eccentric)
Hanging Leg Raises - x 5

Wow. Awesome day. Was exhausted before training due to busy work weekend/mother's day and hard Monday at work, but true to the programs word, I felt very replenished after training. Squat work set felt easier than last weeks, which was 10 lbs. lighter. Same with Bench. Both just flew up with little effort. This pleased me. Dreadlift didn't feel the best but not because of weight, I just didn't feel my setup was on point. I know when it's dialed in, and something just felt a little off in the chain, and I think it was either my lats or legs, but the weight wasn't too heavy, the reps were just not perfect. Contrary to many, my first rep seems the most solid, because of my setup. It's harder for me to create the same tension, unless I release my grip and set up again. Perhaps that would be a better way to practice. Sometimes just getting into the deadlift setup is more exhausting than the lift itself. Will have to see about this tomorrow. Did very slow reps with the chins, instead of adding weight. It's insane how much your muscles get pumped and the tension is felt, even with such low reps. All solid. The hanging leg raise is a lift that never really seems easier to me, perhaps because of long legs? I feel doing it is good though, as my back and abdominal pressure have felt much stronger. I did my last warmup set of squats with 275, without a belt, and felt really solid under the weight. May bump squat and bench up a few pounds tomorrow, as Tuesday's usually the strongest day of the week, but we'll see. Will practice the deadlift setup and start a bit more in depth, maybe doing 1 inch off platform pauses with lighter weight, or hovering reps.
 
Day 2 Week 2

Training earlier than usual today to get my mind off this essay I've been attempting to write. I must've re-written the damn thing 8 times now, and it's about powerlifting. Thought I might find some answers in my training.

Squat - 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 255 x 5 (Paused)
Bench Press- 135 x 1, 185 x 1, 205 x 5
Deadlift 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 315 x 1, 335 x 5
Chin Ups - 25 lbs K-bell - x 5 (slow reps)
Hanging Leg Raises x 5

Stretches, overhead carries, chest openers, arm bars

Came in today feeling a bit tired and really took my time. Early Squat sets weren't inviting to heavier weights. Maybe it's because I didn't stretch after last night but I felt my movement quality today was more akin to slower reps with pauses in the bottom. Did all sets beltless, which I'm quite proud of. The duration of the set is rather long, and tiring, but the weights were a good choice. Was going to push them up after yesterdays easy set, but hey, ebbs and flows and it's best to do what's right for that day. Bench flew up again. My technique has felt very strong and the reps very smooth. Just a few weeks ago on 5/3/1, I failed to hit 6 reps with this weight and today, it felt SOOOO much stronger, smoother and lighter. No grindy reps, uneven extensions. The pauses have helped the weight fly off my chest, and although I compete with the Russian Bench Technique, fast and loose, I practice this by doing lighter weights and full body tension, slow reps. This makes the light weight feel harder, but it let's my body learn the proper position in each rep. Since I'm naturally fast, when I do my heavier days, these slow, tight sessions seem to allow my body to be only as tight as necessary to be fast. My squat and deadlifts are more grind style. I feel the explosive bench as described in PTTP Pro, is truly an underrated means of bench pressing, and has been a lifesaver for me, due to my shoulder and pec injury. Under different training schedules, however, removing my speed and leg drive, and doing tight slow, full body reps a la Beyond Bodybuilding may be valuable, for hypertrophy, and to strengthen the pressing muscles, which may not receive adequate tension during my bench press, push press style cycles. But later this week, I will go back to slow reps and pauses, as I won't push my bench weights up higher even though PR's seem so close.

Deadlifts felt really solid today. I moved in my stance just a hair. I found the key to my technique is to set my leg tension first, then keep it as I grip the bar. This accomplished by approaching the bar, and turning my feet outwards, as this allows me to push my knees out, rather than forward, disrupting the bar path. As I do this, I push my hips and knees away from each other, almost squatting but not that deep, and my arms are just above the bar, hanging and long. At this point, I feel my glutes and quads tighten, and begin to descend to the bar, by "closing" my right side first, crunching the lats and oblique muscle and then my left. If I do it right, the bar leaves the floor on warmup sets, before I've started the lift. I've also found for my reps, it is better for me to lower under tension, as opposed to letting the bar just fall. This allows me to store a bit for my next rep, returns my hips and torso to the proper starting position, and start the next rep without an absolute release of all tension, then sudden surge of it again. I feel the latter method is much more tiring, even with the easy descent, and also may contribute to different starting positions each rep.

Chins, added weight and did them slowly. Felt solid. Hanging leg raises? Still hard but valuable.

Deloaded my spine and now I'm home, trying to write this essay again.
 
Day 3 Week 2

Squat - 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 245 x 5 (3 sec pause)
Bench Press - 135 x 1, 185 x 3,3 165 x 5 (pause at bottom and sticking point)
Deadlift - 155 x 1, 265 x 5 (Hovering off 2 inch mat w/ pause for 3 seconds)
Chins - x 5 w/ 35 lbs. kettlebell
Hanging Leg Raises - x5


Very rainy here in Sacramento after weeks of nice weather. Was just a tad bit perturbed with the situation at the gym, as there was a "Boot Camp" class in the power room, and they were really crowding my squat rack, and not paying attention. It's fine, don't want to let little things bug me, but sometimes folks are just silly. Went light again squats, felt I've gotten a bit loose on my descent, so practiced really slow, tight descent and a 3 second pause, once again beltless. Hard! Last rep, held bottom position for a bit longer,5 seconds maybe?

Bench Press was a different kind of experiment. I have a strong leg drive, and my sticking point is slightly above elbows parallel to the deck. The only 185 set, marked 3,3 is actually one set done like so. One rep = pause at chest, drive to sticking point, pause at sticking point, lowered to chest, pause for 1 second, do one full rep. So I suppose they are one and a half reps. First few reps were just light pulses off the chest, making the bar hop, and paying attention to all that makes this possible. Leg drive and back drive into bench. I'm diving a little deeper into technique development, and am finding out how effective it is to do almost daily practices. On my working set of 5, did the reps a little differently. I paused at chest, drove to sticking point, paused there for several seconds, then finished the rep. I noticed something very peculiar that may have been afflicting my bench and shoulder for some time now. At the sticking point, which when I hit I find the weight sometimes insurmountable, I noticed my right shoulder was slightly unstable. Attentively searching my body, I found my right scapula had winged out just a tad. This explains why my serratus is sore sometimes on the right side. As I did these reps, I realized that when I squeezed my back at the sticking point again, the stability was regained and the finish of the rep was easy! A nice discovery, and one I must practice further to engrain!

Deadlifts were done halting, and hovering style. I deadlifted the bar from a mat, up to where my normal starting position would be and paused there. Then did a rep. Then lowered to just an inch above the ground, where I'd normally start a rep, and completed the lift again. The purpose is to develop a tight starting position. By never letting the weight touch the ground, you keep complete tension through the reps, or suffer.

The rest was just the two accessories. No pauses on chins, just slow and straight reps. Hanging leg raises, hard as usual.
 
Day 4 Week 2

Squat - 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 315 x 1 (belt), 275 x 5 (Beltless)
Bench Press - 135 x pulsing reps, 185 x pulsing reps, 225 x 1 (pause), 175 x 5 (slow descent + 3 second pause)
Deadlift - 155 x 1, 265 x 1, 245 x 5
Chins - x 5 w/ 35 lbs.
Hanging Leg Raises - x 5

Hit a couple of heavy-ish singles, roughly 80 - 85 percent. Only for squats and bench, not deadlifts. It's amazing how much the belt helps me in the squat. Redrilled my slow descent with squats. The 315 was actually the easiest because of the belt. The working set was quite hard, beltless, and it's the most I've squatted without a belt. I feel this will help tighten up my IAP strength, and give me reserve strength. I wonder if my midsection is what holds me back from squatting more. If so, these beltless sets should pay off.

I've enjoyed working the bottom range of the bench. Pulse reps are just where I practice making the bar hop off the bottom. I often add a bunch of pauses to these warmups as well, as nailing down that starting position is key for me. 225 was very fast, but obviously as the weight goes up, the bar doesn't fly as fast. I trained for the "This feels heavier" problem by doing slower reps with 175 and slowing the leg drive down on the pause reps so it's not as helpful at flinging the bar up, but strengthens the pressing muscles/pattern more.

Decided to take it easy on deads and just drill starting position. Slow reps.

Leg raises felt stronger today than usual, chins were nice as well.
 
Breakdown of Avg. intensity for week 1

Squat- 240 lbs. from 365 lbs. (Estimated 1 Rm) = 67 %
Bench Press - 173 lbs. of 250 lbs. (estimated 1 RM) = 69 %
Deadlift - 277 lbs. of 405 (Estimated 1 RM) = 68 %

So these numbers are just about where I want to be. These practices are meant to be around 60 - 80 % average intensity so it's nice to see for the first week, I'm just under 70 % average.

Breakdown of Avg. intensity for week 2

Squat- 253 lbs. from 365 lbs. (Estimated 1 Rm) = 69.3 %
Bench Press - 185 lbs. of 250 lbs. (estimated 1 RM) = 74 %
Deadlift - 281 lbs. of 405 (Estimated 1 RM) = 69 %

Only a slight bump up in intensity from squat and deadlift, which makes sense as they are a bit more taxing. I don't feel nearly as affected by bench press heavy days as I do for the latter two. Thus, bench press is easier to lift a little heavier throughout the week. We'll see how next week goes. Happy to have two days off now!
 
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Day 1 Week 3 5 x 5 x 5

A bit stressed from work. Today wasn't the greatest session, but certainly not the worst. Fatigue may be up a bit but I'm not sure from what. A few factors could contribute: lifting, work, college apps. I also had a strange tightness on my right scapula near the rhomboid area. Tried to loosen it but it's just a bit stressed right now. Nonetheless, I decided to take my headphones today which is something I never do. I just felt like being in a solitary mood, but couldn't get them to work for too long a time (they're wireless and wouldn't connect), which subtracted from my session. Alas, perhaps I will refrain from their use as it was actually a bit distracting from my usually internalized focus. All in all, a rough day at work and at gym, but glad it's out of the way now.

Squat - 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 315 x 3 (Belt) 255 x 5 (beltless)
Bench Press - 135 x 1, 185 x 1, 200 x 5
Deadlift - 155 x 1, 265x 1, 265 x 5
Chins - x 5
HLR - x 5

Hit 315 x 3 as a prelude because I hope to be able to hit it for 5 tomorrow. Bench wasn't stellar. Perhaps a few more warmup sets to really groove the technique. It wasn't bad, just not as dialed in as I'd like. Deadlift, couldn't really find my setup. At this point, I was a little checked out and ready to go home, so I just did an easy/light set. The reps felt a bit better as I went along. Some days are like this, but I still think it's best to do something, even if I wasn't in the ideal mindset. At least I learned a few things. Was all in all, a bit moody today so being able to control my motional rift is important, not just for the gym, but anything. Some adjustments for tomorrow to make it a better session.

  • No headphones- too distracting and blocks focus/visualization.
  • Leave everything at the door.
  • More focus on practice sets/warmups. Recall techniques and drive them home.
  • Patience between sets, and learn from each rep.
  • Find success, even in failures
I look at today' struggle as merely a platform for tomorrow's success.
 
Philippe Geoffrion said:
Nonetheless, I decided to take my headphones today which is something I never do. I just felt like being in a solitary mood, but couldn't get them to work for too long a time (they're wireless and wouldn't connect), which subtracted from my session. Alas, perhaps I will refrain from their use as it was actually a bit distracting from my usually internalized focus.
Click to expand...

A smart phone and wireless headphones are cool but can be so frustrating in this "user friendly" world. Emails that pop-up, friend request on facebook, notification about someone liking your instagram-post, can't connect to spotify on the local wifi, pause for downloading updates on aps you never use, then the update demand a reboot of your phone before it can connect to your headphones etc. etc.
There's something to be said about an ipod Shuffle and a pair of Koss Porta Pro with your carefully picked out beforehand workout-mix. Just push play...
 
Day 2 Week 3

Squat 135 x 3, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 315 x 1, 225 x 5
Bench - 135 x a few, 185 x a few, 205 x 5, 165 x 5
Deadlift - 155 x 1, 245 x 5
Chins - x 5
HKR - x 5

It's obvious I'm overreaching a tad. Solution? Drop the weight, work on perfect form and P.R. when it's time. I've pushed the bench and squat intensity a bit too much, now it's time to ease off the gas pedal. Looking back, P.R.'s came during this program, when I wasn't even pushing hard. My obstacle is that, to not push too hard. Will lower intensity for each for rest of program, and scramble the order of lifts. Only perfect reps!
 
Dekapon said:
A smart phone and wireless headphones are cool but can be so frustrating in this "user friendly" world. Emails that pop-up, friend request on facebook, notification about someone liking your instagram-post, can't connect to spotify on the local wifi, pause for downloading updates on aps you never use, then the update demand a reboot of your phone before it can connect to your headphones etc. etc.
There's something to be said about an ipod Shuffle and a pair of Koss Porta Pro with your carefully picked out beforehand workout-mix. Just push play...
Click to expand...

Yes, @Dekapon, must agree. I usually train without music because it distracts me when I need to be focused, but some people really thrive on it. Same with filming a P.R. set. These little things make a big difference. Sometimes, it's better to have a friend film you so you don't have to worry about little things.
 
WhatWouldHulkDo said:
I think this is one of the good things about putting yourself into competitions - it gives you clear points when it's time to PR (and when it's time to deload). Don't burn that squat PR in training, save if for the meet in 2 months, that sort of idea.
Click to expand...

Indeed Hulk. Maybe that's an element I'm missing, competition. I do in fact miss it.
 
Day 3 Week 3

Deadlift - 155 x 2, 265 x 1,1, 225 x 5
Chinups - x 5 w/ 35 lbs.
Bench Press- 135 x 2, 155 x 5
HLR- x 5
Squat - 135 x 1, 185 x 5


Ahhhh, how refreshing the light weights are sometimes. Finished in a bout 30 minutes, so I feel more on track. Still with the high tension techniques, it is tough to hold tension. Slowed down the reps, lightened the weights and found the grooves. My hip flexors and upper back have been a bit aggravated but the light sessions seems to work voodoo on them. The whole idea of "making sure the program is working by going too heavy" must be left in the waste bin. I know it's working by the grooving of the exercises. Patience is key. Also, these practice sessions give me more time to analyze and execute during each lift, making everything tight in the right places and the grooves nice and smooth. When you're think about whether or not you will lift the bar, you cannot think about how you will lift the bar. Let's focus on the latter a bit.
 
Day 4 Week 3

Deadlift - 135 x 1,1 225 x 1, 245 x 5
Chins - 26 lbs x 5
Bench Press - 135 x 1,1 175 x 5 (Long pause/slow descent)
HLR- x 5
Squat - 135 x 1, 225 x 5

Quick session as I was in a bit of a hurry to get to work. Had a bit of quad stiffness, as I've been fiddling around a bit with foot position for the deads. Have felt a lack in leg drive and recently found I'm not shoving my knees out enough but in fact, shoving my hips a bit too far from the bar. Revisited PTTP Professional and gained some insight on the DL leg drive section. Split each main lift with a lighter accessory to deload the spine/activate essential units.

Bench felt hard today, but I was really going slowly, squeezing everything tightly and not allowing my legs to contribute much to the actual press. Very hard, but it'll help shore up tension leaks and weaknesses.

Squats have been heavy for a bit too long before this and with the quad tightness from deadlift practice, they were a bit tough but good nonetheless. I may be going a bit deeper in these practice sessions then I have before. It's hard to gage where strength is at sometimes in this program, but I believe it will reveal itself in the end if I have faith and stay true to the way.
 
Day 5 Week 3

Deadlifts - 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 335 x 5
Chins - x 2, 45 lbs. x 5
Bench press- 135 x 1, 165 x 1, 185 x 5
HLR - x 5
Squat 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 185 x 5

Trained early today as it's a big weekend and I have a lot going on. My quads have still felt a little strained but it affects the squat a bit more than the deads. All lifts felt easy, except squats because of my quads. Trained in a more Stephen Korte ESM method as all the tense lifting is exhausting but today definitely felt refreshed despite a night of poor sleep. Next week is a deload and I hope my quads feel better.

Have a great weekend!
 
Day 1 Week 4 (Unloading)

Deadlift- 155 x 2, 265 x 1, 375 x 1, 315 x 3
Bench press- 135 x 2, 185 x 1, 205 x 3
Squat - 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 245 x 3
Chins - 45 lbs x 3
HLR - x 3

Nothing extraordinary here. Trying to hold back from going too heavy. Lifts felt strong and smooth but I've been a little banged up, my quads and upper back from the deadlift and squat being done so often. Hopefully it clears up, did some foam rolling and lightened the loads and reps are shorter this week, so hopefully that helps. Next week I'm supposed to test my maxes, but I think I'll just try for one in the bench and deadlift, as my quads are a bit strained still. Thus I'm putting those lifts first. Hope everyone had a great weekend!
 
Day 2 Week 4 (Unloading)

Bench Press- 135 x 2, 185 x1, 215 x 1, 165 x 3 (long pause)
Chins - x 3 ( a few BW sets between bench sets)
Deadlifts- 135 x 1, 225 x 3
HKR - x 3
Squat - 135 x 1, 185 x 3

Starting to go way lighter on everything now. I plan to hit a heavy deadlift and bench press single sometime next week and in order to do so I must stay fresh. I know my work will pay off if I do not sabotage myself by going too heavy at any time. Must do some other things as I'm not getting my "fix" of heavy weights. Play guitar, meditate, read, etc anything that stops me from spontaneously driving to the gym and trying to pull 475 randomly. Trying to be patient and combat my heavy weight addiction.
 
Breakdown of Avg. intensity for week 1

Squat- 240 lbs. from 365 lbs. (Estimated 1 Rm) = 67 %
Bench Press - 173 lbs. of 250 lbs. (estimated 1 RM) = 69 %
Deadlift - 277 lbs. of 405 (Estimated 1 RM) = 68 %

So these numbers are just about where I want to be. These practices are meant to be around 60 - 80 % average intensity so it's nice to see for the first week, I'm just under 70 % average.

Breakdown of Avg. intensity for week 2

Squat- 253 lbs. from 365 lbs. (Estimated 1 Rm) = 69.3 %
Bench Press - 185 lbs. of 250 lbs. (estimated 1 RM) = 74 %
Deadlift - 281 lbs. of 405 (Estimated 1 RM) = 69 %

Only a slight bump up in intensity from squat and deadlift, which makes sense as they are a bit more taxing. I don't feel nearly as affected by bench press heavy days as I do for the latter two. Thus, bench press is easier to lift a little heavier throughout the week. We'll see how next week goes. Happy to have two days off now!

Breakdown of Avg. intensity for week 3
Squat - 243 lbs. from 365 lbs. (Estimated 1RM) = 66 %
Bench Press - 180 lbs. of 250 lbs. (Estimated 1RM) = 72 %
Deadlift - 263 lbs. of 405 lbs. (estimated 1RM) = = 65 %

Intensity a bit low last week, but definitely took a blow from the extra singles/too high warmups I did. With high frequency is a definitely a no/no I'm finding. Percentages didn't take into account the heavy squats singles and extra bench sets which were unnecessary for the program. Just got to take this week light.
 
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