5 3 1 Witty Title

[Jon33]

Haven't updated in a while again so here goes!

Week 1 5 x 5+

Bench
5 x 55
5 x 65
5 x 72.5

Deadlift
5 x 97.5
5 x 112.5
7 x 127.5

OHP
5 x 40
5 x 45
5 x 52.5

And onto week 2 3 x 3+

Squats
3 x 82.5
3 x 92.5
3 x 105 (PB)

Bench
3 x 60
3 x 67.5
4 x 77.5

Deadlifts
3 x 105
3 x 120
4 x 137.5 (PB - need to order more plates before next weeks!)

OHP
3 x 42.5
3 x 47.5
5 x 55 (PB)

Quite a few PBs this week (not sure if that's an improvement or down to not actually trying that weight - we'll say progress!)

I'm concerned about my benching, according to the spreadsheet it's not improving, not quite sure what to do here. How wide should I go with my grip?

 

[Jon33]

Nice PBs!

My benching too is stalling at the same weight (although your OHP is stronger than mine). Have you read the form guide on here and / or watched the Dave Tate "So you tihnk you can bench" videos? Personally I grip my bar with ring fingers on the smooth part. I also found that just upping the weight still lets me progress even if I miss my 3x5 prescribed weight for a few weeks.

Not sure if I've seen those "So you think you can bench" vids, I'll take a look, thanks!

 

[Jon33]

Onto some squats! As next week will be a deload I've got some vids to hopefully get more feedback on improving my form.

5, 3, 1+

Warmup

Back seems to be rounding at the bottom.

5 x 87.5

3 x 100

2 x 110 (PB)

Finished with 3 x 10 60kg stiff leg deadlifts and 3 x 10 15kg plate in each hand split squats - don't think I'll walk tomorrow!

Sat through the seven bench videos so I'll be working on that form tomorrow.

 

[Jon33]

Grats on the PB! Clearly your second rep was a bit folded over but first looked good to my newbie eye

Thanks - good job I cut the attempt at a 3rd rep out

 

[Jon33]

Week 3 Bench 5, 3, 1+

After watching those "So you think you can bench" vids, I've tried to work on my form - vids below!

5 x 65
3 x 72.5
2 x 82.5 (Think this might be a PB)

Excuse any music from the vids, the wife was working in the background!

First vid trying to get myself into that position with the arched back. One thing I notice is that my elbows seem to go below the bench (something mentioned not to do on the videos) but I can't understand how I would bench without doing that as the bar would be nowhere near my chest

Some 60kg reps taken after my working sets.

 

[Jon33]

Week 3 5, 3, 1+ Deadlifts

5 x 112.5
3 x 127.5
2 x 145 (PB)

Quite tricky the final rep due to losing grip/sweaty bar.

Bought some new plates this week as I only had 145kg before so I thought I'd treat myself and give 150kg a go. Managed it so added another 5kg to the PB!

 

[Jon33]

Think I'll have to get some on order!

So to today's workout...

Week 3 - 5, 3, 1+ OHP

5 x 45
3 x 52.5
4 x 57.5

Quite happy with 4 for the final set to I gave 60 a go and managed 2 reps! That's another PB for this cycle.

Glad it's a deload week next week! I've been working on my ankle flexibility so I'm going to try some Olympic form again.

Based on the final set numbers for this cycle I think I'm going to drop the weight increments to 5kg for Squat/Deadlift and 2.5kg for Bench/OHP for the next cycle to try and get a few more reps in the earlier weeks. Thoughts?

 

[Jon33]

Deload week last week so nothing of note really; it was actually a quiet one, only managed two sessions so done bench and squats one day and OHP and deadlifts the other.

Start of cycle 4 today. I had to edit the spreadsheet slightly to change it to a 5kg increase for deadlifts and squats and a 2.5kg increase for OHP and bench. Idea behind that is to continue with a weight increase but I don't want to stall where I can't hit the minimum reps.

Cycle 4 Week 1 - 3 x 5+ Squats

5 x 77.5
5 x 90
7 x 102.5

Happy with that, I only managed 5 x 100 during the first week of the last cycle so I've hit more reps with a slightly larger weight. Finished off with 3 x 10 70kg stiff leg deadlift and 3 x 8 split squats with 15kg dumbbells in each hand.

 

[Jon33]

Get your knees wider and sit back more when you squat, as you're getting the last few inches of depth by flexion at your ankles.

This will shaft progress beyond a certain point as your back will take the load rather than your posterior chain.

Don't worry about "sitting on your ankles" kind of depth because you're doing the wrong squats for that.

Thanks for the advice, bench day today but I tried some squat form with the bar. Video below, excuse the concentration face. Tried not to go too deep but I don't think I've went deep enough now?

I think I end up going forwards with my ankles because I'm going to tip backwards, for the reps on the video I was right on my heels, due to a lack of a better description do I need to "lean forward" more when I go down to balance out and stop myself from tipping back or is there something else I need to be doing?

Todays workout...

Cycle 4 Week 1 - 3 x 5+ Benchpress

5 x 57.5
5 x 65
6 x 75

 

[Jon33]

Yeah... keep those knees right out and your chest up.

You are working your hips well but need to stick your bum back more; you are currently moving between a low and high bar squat which is causing the fun. Don't pre-load your hips but sit down and back, spreading the floor with your feet. At present, you are sitting back and then down, which is why it feels a bit odd.

Make sense?

So down and back rather than back and down? Not 100% sure on the mental queues for this e.g. what comes first, second etc... So I need to be thinking about spreading the floor as I go down and forcing my knees out? I've read that your arse should go back before your knees start to bend, is this the case? I'll have another try at the weekend and see how it looks, I would try tonight but I'm crippled by DOMS

 

[Jon33]

Just had a read through the T NATION info about box squatting, I'll give that a try next time I think as it did mention something about rocking backwards and hamstrings. Which might explain a - why I feel like I'm going to rock backwards and b - why my hamstrings are in agony today!

 

[Jon33]

A couple of updates

Cycle 4 Week 1 - 3 x 5+

Saturday 13 - Deadlifts

5 x 102.5
5 x 117.5
8 x 132.5

Felt good on these, feeling stronger.

Sunday 14 - OHP

5 x 40
5 x 47.5
5(or 6 can't remember!) x 52.5

Well that didn't go so well! What ever I did yesterday has crippled my shoulders for today, even the warm up felt heavy! I think it might have been the ab roll outs for the first time

 

[Jon33]

Cycle 4 Week 2 3x3+ Squats

Decided to trade the regular squats in for some box squats today, never tried them before so video attached. Wasn't too sure how high to have the box (home made box that I use for jumps, could be 2 inches lower if needed). Felt very strange doing them and I think I got the hang of it more as I went on, knowing that I could sit myself back without actually falling anywhere!

Forgot which week I was on and ended up doing 5 reps of each but oh well!

5 x 85
5 x 97.5
5 x 110

 

[Jon33]

Evening all

An update to finish of week 2.

Cycle 2 Week 2 3 x 3+

Bench Press

3 x 62.5
3 x 70
3 x 80

Blergh, hoping that my bench picks up!

Deadlift

3 x 110
3 x 125
6 x 140

Quite happy with that!

OHP

3 x 45
3 x 50
4 x 57.5

Making progress so that'll do!

 

[Jon33]

Good deadlifting!

Cheers!

An update from today...

Cycle 4 Week 3 - 5, 3, 1+ Squats

Thought I'd stick with the box squats again this week as I quite enjoyed them last week.

5 x 90
3 x 102.5
2 x 115 (PB)

So after hitting the PB I thought maybe it was the box making it easier, had a quick rest then hit 115 without the box for one rep, happy with that!

Finished off with some stiff leg deadlifts, then 20mins on the turbo trainer... not looking forward to the coming days....

 

[Jon33]

Getting strong dude :thumbsup:

Thanks mate!

Cycle 4 Week 3 - 5, 3, 1+ Bench Press

5 x 65
3 x 75
2 x 82.5

Not overly happy with that, exactly the same as cycle 3 week 3. Really struggling to get my benching to improve. I've watched all of the "so you think you can bench" series and I had a go at correcting my form. It's pretty hard to get a video of it but I've put one below of the 82.5 set, any comments would be great!

Edit: forgot to mention, after the set I've been feeling some discomfort in my lower back, is this due to the unfamiliar position you have to get into for benching?

 

[Jon33]

Cycle 4 Week 3 - Deadlifts

Wouldn't normally work out on a Friday but I'm away at the weekend so needed to get the session in!

5 x 117.5
3 x 132.5
3 x 147.5

Happy with that, last cycle I managed two reps at 145, so I've beat that with a higher weight!

 

[Jon33]

No: it is just that benching is gash.

I am sure somebody with more experience and advice in benching will help at some point, but you can always repost in the form thread.

In all seriousness, provded core is tight, you're probably fine and it may be the odd position. ..

I'll stick something in the form thread and see what feedback I get, cheers!

Finished off Cycle 4 Week 3 OHP tonight

5 x 47.5
3 x 52.5
2 x 60

Don't think I was 100% today (drinking last night!) but I equaled my previous PB. Not great but after last weeks OHP it felt a lot better!

 

[Jon33]

Haven't updated in awhile! Had a de-load week last week with nothing really exciting to note. So onto Cycle 5!

Cycle 5 Week 1 3x5+ Squats

5 x 82.5
5 x 95
5 x 107.5

Was hoping for a couple more on the final set but after the first set felt like a struggle I'll take that!

Finished with some 80kg stiff leg deadlifts.

3x5+ Bench

5 x 60
5 x 67.5
4 x 77.5

Not too impressed with that, first and second set felt great then the final set felt like crap, grip didn't feel comfortable - had to reset the bar half way through. Not progressing with the Bench as I hoped so went with a couple of sets of 2 reps with 77.5 (which actually didn't feel too bad).

I'll see how the benching goes for the rest of the cycle then consider my options at the end, the main thing that is concerning me with the 531 routine is the total amount of weight lifted at the end of the sets. After reading that the total amount lifted is one of the most important things to improve strength I added up some figures from todays benching which gives a total weight of 1025kg, compare that with a 5x5 routine at 70kg (which I could manage) which would give a total weight of 1750kg. That's a fair bit more!

I've definitely made some progress on the 531 but if my bench keeps stalling (read: not hitting min reps) should I consider going back to the 5x5 at the end of the cycle?