5 3 1 Witty Title

Jon33

Jon33

Jon33

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Following on from some advice I've decided to go with a 5 3 1 routine, initially going to try it over four days a week - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Hoping to use this thread to obtain advice to keep me progressing!

These are the numbers I'm using for the first four week cycle to see how I get on. (may need adjusting)

Bench - 80
Squat - 100
Press - 50
Deadlift - 130
 
First session - Squats!

5 x 65

5 x 75

7 (max) x 85

These haven't quite been right since a footballing injury hyper extended my knee. Something isn't flexible enough so if anyone can suggest some specific mobility exercises based on the vids below that would be fantastic!

Without the bar...


Warm-up 50


Warm-up 60


75


Noticed my feet were wider than shoulder width so tried them closer together...

 
Sunday - Bench day

Started off by having a go at some squats with a focus being keeping the chest up.

Here are the results, definitely need to work on flexibility as I couldn't naturally hit depth and keep the chest up (felt in hamstrings and hips). Balance/tension in the legs felt a lot better, I could feel the weight staying on my heels rather than rocking forward.

Just the bar


and 40



Then onto the benching!

5 x 50
5 x 57.5
9 x 65


Had a go at the "big but boring"

5 x 10 x 37.5

And finished with some body weight dips.
 
Wednesday - Deadlifts!

5 x 85
5 x 97.5
7 x 112.5

Forgot to video the working sets but got one during a warm up, as always comments are more than welcome!


Finished off with some lat pulldowns and chin ups.
 
Begbie said:
Get rid of boring but big, it's going to do you no favours really.

Bench day, I throw in some dips, DB bench and some tri work. Nothing crazy but enough to entertain me mostly.

You said in you're OP anyway, but you may want to fiddle with the numbers. I'd do the first cycle regardless now anyway, see what numbers you get on week 3. Generally I aim for 9-10 week 1, 7-8 week 2 and 4-6 for week 3.

I've done the opposite and ended up with going to light this cycle, may re-adjust. But then IMO keeping it too light isn't too much of an issue aslong as you're still progressing at a good rate.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, would you finish with something like 3x8 on a couple of exercises?
 
Right forgot to update this so here is a monster update!

Saturday - 21st. Squats.

3 x 67.5
3 x 77.5
7 x 87.5

Took the comments on board and I'm trying to stick my chest out and keep back tight.

Here are the results, still struggling to get down to parallel due to flexibility - any specific stretches I can try?


Monday - 23rd. Bench

3 x 52.5
3 x 60
9 x 67.5

Finished it off with some close grip bench press and dips. Forgot to record numbers - doh!

Wednesday 25th. Deadlift.

3 x 92.5
3 x 105
5 x 117.5

Not too sure about the form here, so all comments are appreciated.


Friday 27th. OHP.

3 x 55
3 x 40
9 x 45

Finished off with some lateral raises and face pulls.

Saturday 29th. Squats. START OF WEEK 3.

5 x 72.5
3 x 82.5
4 x 92.5

Forgot to take a video today but felt slightly more mobile, still not great though.
 
Thanks for linking that post, just what I needed!

Forgot to mention I tried some Bulgarian split squats after the squat session yesterday, feeling them today! Think I'll give those a try again as they seem to be working the muscles slightly differently to the back squats
 
Week 3 Bench Press today

Legs still feel crippled from the split squats yesterday!

Warmup
5 x 60
3 x 65
7 x 72.5

Is that too many reps for the third week of the cycle?

Finished off with some more benching 60 x 8 x 3 and some dips.
 
Week 3 Deadlifts

Pretty tired after work but pushed through to get a workout in.

Warmup
5 x 97.5
3 x 112.5
4 x 125

Finished off with 4 x 8 x 60kg BOR and some lat pulldowns.

Think that might be my highest deadlift to date! I've put a video below of the 97.5 for you to critique.


Noticed I'm back in my old habit of bouncing it over my knees but I think I fixed that for the heavier sets.

Another thing - how much is healthy weight gain? Noticed the other day I've put on a couple of kilograms.
 
Need some advice here I'm about to move onto week 4 (reload) is this always recommended or should I shuffle the numbers slightly based on the first 3 weeks and start again?

Here are the 90% numbers used to calculate the reps for each week
Squat 96
Bench 76
Deadlift 131
Shoulder press 50

And here are my max reps for each week

Week 1 (3 x 5+)
Squat 7
Bench 9
Deadlift 7
Shoulder 9

Week 2 (3 x 3+)
Squat 7
Bench 9
Deadlift 5
Shoulder 9

Week 3 (1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 1+)
Squat 4
Bench 7
Deadlift 4
Shoulder 5

As always, advice is much appreciated!
 
Skipped the deload week during the first cycle and went straight onto the next. Two weeks in (forgot to update)

Week 1 5x5+

Squats

70
80
90 x 6

Bench

52.5
60
67.5 x 10

Deadlift

92.5
105
120 x 6

OHP

35
42.5
47.5 x 7

Week 2 - 3x3+

Squats

75
85
95 x 6

Bench

57.5
65
72.5 x 7

Deadlifts

100
112.5
127.5 x 7 (Think that might be the heaviest I've lifted)

OHP

40
45
50 x 6

And here's a couple of vids for form checks please! Think my flexibility is improving.


 
GSVBagpuss said:
I'm far, far from an expert but deads look ok / squats aren't deep enough
Click to expand...

Thank for the comment. I know my squats aren't quite there yet I've been working on my flexibility and form with them. I can go deeper but I think the form goes - I'll up another vid next time I try them.
 
mrthingyx said:
Where is the bar located:

- on your traps over your cervical vertebrae?
- in the groove created by your rear delts?

(Google high bar vs low bar position if you are still unclear)

If you are doing low bar, get your feet (stance) wider as this will give your hips more room at the bottom of the squat. They 'should' be past your shoulder width... just look at how American powerlifters do it. ;)

High bar is a different story, so clarify in your head what you are trying to accomplish and we can go from there...
Click to expand...

Groove created by delts, aiming for a low bar - find it more comfortable.

Maybe I need to get my legs a bit wider. (I'll get a vid from the back to show you how wide the currently are)
 
A bit hectic lately moving house but the gym is back up and running.

Rundown of week 3 (1x5, 1x3, 1x1+)

Squats

80
90
100 x 3

Bench

60
67.5
77.5 x 4

Deadlift

105
120
130 x 2 (should've been 135 but I lost the paper with the weights written on during the move!) - Not too happy with that considering I managed 5 reps on 127.5 the week before!

OHP

42.5
47.5
52.5 x 4

Onto the deload week now so thought it would be a good time for work on some form and have a go at some Olympic lifts. Tried with some of the snatch today, video showing a few timid attempts after by first attempt resulted in balls to bar...

 
Finished off the deload week and about to move onto cycle 3 (in about the next 20mins!).

Continued to work on some Olympic lifting form but my lack of flexibility and technique really needs some work.

Attempt at some overhead squats


Few different bits

 
Gonna keep it going as assistance work to the 531 I think, as at the moment the broom handle isn't tiring me too much!

Off to the mobility thread for some ankle work it is. Whilst on about the overhead squats how upright should your back be? I've seen some vids of people squating with their backs relatively upright and the barheld roughly in line with their backs and others seem to be leaning forward more whilst keeping their arms in an upright position - is this just down to flexibility and comfort or...?

Had the first squat session of cycle 3 today.

5 x 5+

5 x 75
5 x 87.5
5 x 100

Only managed the 5 on the final set, legs didn't seem to have much after 5 a side yesterday.

Finished with some split squats and stiff leg dead lifts with a wide grip (working on my the grip for the snatch)
 
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