Ola's 5/3/1-log
 

5, 3, 1, Go:

I've been training by myself for some time and hope to get in contact with some likeminded people here. I've dabbled with GPP-training but my lack of strength has always kept me back. This is my log in my pursuit to get stronger.

(Being a novice weight trainee) I chose to follow Wendlers 5/3/1 method since it's accessible and I like the structure. My weeks will look something like this:

• Day 1: Bench Press,
• Day 2: Front Squat (due to a bulging disc I'm much more comfortable with FS than back squats),
• Day 3: Shoulder Press,
• Day 4: Deadlift.

My primary assisting exercises will be: TGU, kroc rows, dips, pull ups and power cleans.

One or two times a week I will add some conditioning. I'll keep it short and simple, doing sprints, hill runs, rowing and some circuits with sandbags, kettlebells and bodyweight exercises.

All in all a pretty straight-forward and simple program.

My goals for 2010 (1RM):

• Bench Press: 140 kg,
• Front squat: 150 kg,
• Shoulder press: 90 kg.

Due to my bad back I only tried to find my 1RM on SP (72,5 kg in november) the last two years. I've been doing heavy singles (but nowhere near an 1RM) on FS (115 kg) but haven't bench pressed the last ten years or so. About the deadlift my only concern is not aggrevating my bad back.

Additional info:
I'm 35 years old and have a bodyweight of 90 kg.

Cycle 1, Week 1
 

First week of 5/3/1 done; really like it! Since I started way below 90% of my 1RM on several lifts I’ve been feeling very fresh after the workouts.

Two questions for someone more knowledgeable than me:

• How should I go about choosing my assistance work and combining it with my compound lifts?
• During deload weeks I’m thinking of combining day 1 & 2 into one workout and do the same with day 3 & 4 and minimize assistance work. Good idea?

Training recap
Day 1: Bench Press 5*60, 5*67,5, 14*75 kg. Stopped before getting close to failure. Wanted to try this out before repping away like crazy. Assistance: Kroc rows 1*max with 24 kg. TGU for 6 minutes (quality not quantity).

Day 2: Front Squat 67,5*5, 77,5*5, 10*87,5 kg. Assistance: Power clean, 2 on the minute for 10 minutes, 65 kg (performed before FS). Very light, going to progress these by 1,25 kg every week. Good Morning, 3*25, 25 kg (prehab for my back).

Day 3: Shoulder Press 5*42,5, 5*50, 11*55 kg. Assistance: Dips 5*10 (BW). Good Morning, 3*25 30 kg (prehab).

Day 4: Deadlift 5*80, 5*90, 10*100 kg. Due to my bulging disc I’m being very cautious deadlifting. Assistance: PU 3*max (10/6/5). Didn’t like doing PU after DL and plan to switch the order of PC and PU. L-Sit, aggregate 1 min (took forever).

Conditioning: none this week. Read an article by Dan John on T-Muscle where he mentioned doing Bikram Yoga. Got inspired, I often cheat when it comes to stretching, and tried it twice on my rest days. Very humbling. Realized I have northern Europe’s stiffest ankle joints.

C1w2d1
 

Focused on slouching and active recovery the past few days (Bikram Yoga – not decided what to make of this yet). Hopefully one of the benefits with 5/3/1, compared with going for broke every other day, is avoiding being dead tired and sore all the time. Something for all the met heads to consider.

C1W2D1
Bench Press
3*62,5 kg
3*72,5 kg
13*80 kg – stopped shy of failure with a couple of reps

Assistance
* Kroc rows: 1*40, 20 kg
* Good morning: 3*25, 30 kg (prehab)

It's honestly up to you and it looks like what you have set up is fairly decent. The only thing I would personally swap is the Dips on Pressing day with the Pullups on DL day (I like making everyone push/pull or vice versa). I'd also say that once you hit 10 reps with BWT on both those start making them weighted. But, honestly it's all up to you and it's what works best for you (again what you have looks good) so play around with it later if you want.

In fact on EliteFTS Wendler fields a few questions about this in a Q&A section and he basically says the same thing about playing around with it. He says certain movements work better for some than others - for example Kroc Rows work really awesome for him. Here's a link to the Q&A section over there so check it out and it'll really help you - he's always answering questions and seems really good about fielding almost anything anyone throws at him.

Good idea with minimizing the assistance work. With combining the two days are you saying that the purpose is to minimize your deload week (i.e. make it only 2 days long) so you can begin a new cycle sooner? Or are you just wanting to take that 4th week easy and only workout 2 days the entire week then take the other 5 as rest days?

If you're trying to shorten deload week by making it 2 days so you can get to a new cycle faster - don't. Give your body a break. If you're wanting to combine the movements so you have more days off, I don't think that'd be a problem. Bottom line - take a full 4 weeks for each cycle. You're in no hurry.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it!

Will do that with dips and increase with 1,25/2,5 kg every week until I plateau.

Yes, this combined with increased focus on active recovery (mobility work, stretching etc.) during deload weeks. This will also give me more time to play tennis, something I do fairly often during the summer.

Good luck with this. I'm actually starting this week on 5/3/1, and with very similar stats (35 yr old, 202 lbs, and recovering from a partially torn gluteas medius last Oct). Hope you do well.

C1 W2 D2
 

Warmed up thoroughly before the front squats to be on the safe side, even though I’ve never have had any problems doing heavy FS. The thing that aggravates my injury is stress, bad posture and high reps of stupid things like the air squat.

C1W2D2
Front Squat
3*72,5 kg
3*82,5 kg
9*92,5 kg

Assistance
* PU, 3*max (12/7/6) - felt good doing PU after FS instead of after DL
* L-Sit, aggregate 1 min.

C1 W2 D3
 

Slept nearly 12 hours before this session. Stressful weeks at work and at the same time we sold our apartment; needed the rest.

C1W2D3
Shoulder Press
3*45 kg
3*52,5 kg
10*57,5 kg

Assistance
* Dips 5*10 - BW, have gained 3 kg the last weeks so that was my increase
* Good morning 3*25, 30 kg (prehab)

C1 W2 D4
 

Yet another full nights sleep. Deadlift today so I was extremely cautious. 40 min warm up (incorporated some drills from Diesel Crew) and many specific warm up sets.

C1W2D4
Deadlift
3*85 kg
3*95 kg
10*107,5 kg - far from max, just taking it easy and getting into DL:ing again

Assistance
* Power Cleans, 2 on the minute for 10 minutes, 67,5 kg - liked performing them before the DL.
* TGU for 6 minutes (quality), 24 kg

C1 W3 D1
 

C1W3D1
Bench Press
5*67,5 kg
3*77,5 kg
10*85 kg

Assistance
* Kroc rows, 1*40, 20 kg
* Good morning, 3*25, 30 kg (prehab)

Been feeling a bit stiff in my lower back (stress related). Postponed today's planned front squat session. Have an appointment with my naprapath (manual medicine) tomorrow morning.